


On Shaky Ground

by meandminniemcg



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Coming Out, F/F, Fake Marriage, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Post-Hogwarts, Sharing a Bed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-13
Updated: 2018-06-12
Packaged: 2019-03-31 00:35:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 36,383
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13963485
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/meandminniemcg/pseuds/meandminniemcg
Summary: Walking in on Draco and Harry feels as if an earthquake was happening, but when Astoria finds herself talking to Ginny, there is hope for a new beginning.





	1. First day

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to my betas violetclarity (first readings of chapter 1 and 2) and INeFfinP (beta reading of all that has been written of it so far.) as well as to my friends who have encouraged me to write.

Ginny was just sitting down and drinking tea in her sitting room. She was enjoying the quiet Friday evening, knowing her three children were having a fun stay with her parents, when the chimney fire changed color. A furious-looking blonde woman stepped out of the chimney, and then, as she noticed Ginny, stopped on the spot and stared at her.  
“Hello, Mrs. Malfoy, have you Flooed to the wrong address? You seem so surprised to see me.” Ginny tried to look friendly.  
“I…I… forgot about you… I’m looking for my husband.”  
Ginny sighed and beckoned at the second armchair by the fire. “Take a seat, Mrs. Malfoy. I think whatever it is that distresses you so obviously, a cup of tea and a talk between women will help you better than Flooing to every house in the wizarding world. Anyway, Potter House is a very unlikely guess. Your husband has never spontaneously visited us.”  
“He Disapparated with YOUR HUSBAND! After I walked in on them.”  
“Accio cup of lavender chamomile tea. Accio two plates with chocolate eclairs.”  
Ginny handed the cup to Mrs. Astoria Malfoy.  
“You walked in on our husbands?”  
“They were kissing.”  
Ginny was not in the least surprised.  
“So that is why he never told me any name… But I knew he had feelings for someone lately.”  
“You…what?!? So, Potter not only cheats on you but even has the nerve to tell you. Why do you let him do that to you?” She put her hand on Ginny’s arm. “Whatever it is, I will help you. Does he beat you?”  
Ginny smiled a wide smile at her. “Thank you for offering your help, but our marriage is not what it seems. Harry is very kind and caring. I’m not the one here who needs help.” She took a sip of tea. “You know, we have been very much the center of attention. Especially with that Rita Skeeter at our heels for years. The hero and the Quidditch star. Harry and I have been close friends from our school days and Quidditch training. So, we helped each other to keep the façade. Furthermore, we had the wish to have children. Only my family, including Teddy and Andromeda Tonks, as well as two or three friends who practically belong to the family, know we are only pretending to be a couple.”  
Astoria had sunken into her chair, gripping the armrests so tightly that her knuckles turned white, and looking distraught. Ginny took her hand softly.  
“It is painful now, but you will overcome the pain. You are a strong woman, Astoria Malfoy.,” She repeated in a calm, almost hypnotic voice until she saw that Astoria’s grip with the other hand loosened, and tears streamed down her face. 

After a few deep breaths, Astoria spoke between sobs.  
“It was an arranged marriage. I always tried to live up to his expectations. He never criticized me, but I always felt I couldn’t reach him the way a wife should reach her husband. After my pregnancy, he never wanted to be physically close to me again. I never knew he was gay. I thought that I was a failure.”  
“You are not. I remember the reception you gave for Hogwarts alumni association on Sirius Black Memorial Day. You organized it all brilliantly; your speech was heartwarming. You proved all the people wrong who had called it a disgrace that the Malfoys would be allowed to give such a reception. You proved to be a better type of Slytherin than those discriminating gits. You did your best as the wife of one of the few remaining relatives of Sirius. Don’t mind that Skeeter woman and all those who believe her. You are so much better and more open-minded than those who speak badly about you, and you challenge the beliefs you have learned. And you are attractive. Many men, and quite a few women would give both their arms to have someone to love who is like you.”

Ginny looked at the clock to avoid looking at Astoria’s face. She did not think that this was a good time to let Astoria see that she was attracted to her, too – had been since last Sirius Black Memorial Day, when she had first become aware of the beautiful timbre of Astoria Malfoy’s voice. She had spoken exactly what Ginny had always longed to hear from a representative of the descendants of those who made her childhood difficult. Astoria and Draco Malfoy had proven by their behavior to be ready to learn and to make good for the damage caused by their parents and - as in Draco’s case - themselves. Draco had been brought up with the horrible beliefs of his father and had started doubting them only when Voldemort told him to kill Dumbledore. And then it was still quite a step between doubting and fully turning his back on the beliefs of his ancestors. But Ginny knew he had taken the step. There had been enough occasions to prove his changed attitude over the last three years.  
“I think it must be complicated for a descendant of a Blood Purist family to do anything out of the Pureblood norm. For us, it was a happy thought to know that Sirius and Remus loved each other, but Sirius had already been disowned. Not everyone is as brave as Sirius. And Sirius never had to be brave all alone. He had the other Marauders, especially Remus, and Lily. And the other Gryffindors, McGonagall, and Dumbledore, the Order of the Phoe…” 

A sound at the door interrupted the women.  
“Ginny, I’m back,” Harry exclaimed from the stairs. Ginny rushed to the corridor and told him Astoria was here. He got pale, but then said “I’ll call Draco to come here. We must do something about the mess we made. He’s already looking for her. He wanted a talk with her alone and explain everything.” And out he went.  
“I don’t want to see him!” Astoria screamed once Ginny had broken the news about Harry’s plan to bring Draco here. “I didn’t think about how to talk to him. I’m scared. Do you think it will be possible to postpone it?”  
“I’ll tell him to stay in the downstairs guest room until you are ready to see him. But you two must negotiate what you will do now. If not for anything else, then because of Scorpius. It can be done indirectly, though.” 

“Draco just used me. I was just a stupid cow in his eyes. All he wanted me for was breeding and doing the work!” Astoria sobbed.  
“But maybe he still sees you as a close friend.” Ginny hoped that this would comfort Astoria.  
“Why would he see me as a friend? I don’t have what he wants, that’s obvious.”  
“You must find out the truth. And you don’t need to go through this hard time alone. If you want me to, I’ll be there for you.” She sat as close to Astoria as possible, taking hold of her hand and rubbing circles with her thumb, hoping to comfort her with it.

“You don’t know me well; what if you find that I’m a nuisance?”  
“Astoria…” Ginny began softly.  
“I failed to get a husband who wanted me. I don’t have many friends, and now I even lost my Slytherin behavior standard. I’m crying like a baby in the presence of a Gryffindor.”  
“Hey, it takes courage to do so. If Slytherin expels you from the alum association, I’ll make sure you become an honorary Gryffindor.”  
Despite herself, a weak smile crept on Astoria’s face.  
“Astoria, you did not fail. Even your husband did not fail. The standards are wrong. He should never have needed a cover-up wife. And you deserve someone who loves you and whom you love, pureblood, halfblood, muggleborn or muggle, man or woman, human, veela, werewolf or semi-giant.”  
“Why do you name all those?”  
“Because I have fabulous friends who are one of them, people I would trust with my life.” Ginny beckoned to the wall on the left from the chimney, where they had loads of muggle pictures of friends and family, and magical pictures of Fred, Sirius and Remus, Harry’s parents, Tonks, and all the other deceased people whom they would never stop missing.

“Gin- er- Mrs. Potter?”  
“Please, let’s use first names. If you are lacking friends in this phase of your life, let me be a friend of yours.”  
“Thank you,” Astoria said under her breath. A tear rolled down her left cheek, but her lips formed a smile. “Thank you for making me feel protected.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Meanwhile, Harry had found Draco in a corner of Malfoy Manor park close to a romantic little gazebo that was very unlike the Malfoys’ usual style. Even from afar, Harry saw that Draco was more distressed than when they had parted. Harry rushed to the blond man and put his hand on the other man’s shoulder.  
“I - can’t -find her.” The Slytherin was close to crying.  
“She is in Potter House. Ginny is looking after her”  
“She will hate me now. Dammit! I took advantage of her friendliness. She loved me, filling my home with love and warmth like I had not had anywhere outside Hogwarts before, and I had to cheat on her. Harry, I can’t regret loving you, but I fucking regret cheating on her.”  
Harry had never heard Draco swear like this before. But he knew that when the blond man was this tense, he forgot his manners.

“Draco, our situation is difficult. But I believe that we all went through so much worse. We survived the war; we will survive a family crisis, too. And this whole crisis is the consequence of the bad old days. If you had been free to come out, then Astoria would just have been your best friend. She would have freely chosen a spouse among all people of the world and not only among three candidates. And Ginny would not be called my wife, but one of my best friends. But Astoria deserves to know the truth. Come on. Pack yours and Astoria’s bags, including the potions she needs, and something she especially loves to eat or drink. And pick flowers for her.”  
“Yes, sir.” Draco grinned.  
“See, Draco, whatever happens now, doing something feels better than worrying.”  
“I love when you take control of a difficult situation. And, in general, I love you.”  
“I love you, too.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Back in Potter House, Ginny and Astoria had retreated to the kitchen.  
“Thank Merlin, Scorpius is visiting his godfather overnight. I would not want him to be left alone with the house elves overnight. They may be more self-respecting nowadays, but still, they could turn a child into a tyrant. Mind you, our elves get a salary, and every elf who wants can have clothes and choose if they want to stay, but only Dobby’s sister chose to take clothes.”  
“Yes, I know what you mean, we don’t have elves, but you know we often were in the Hogwarts kitchen. Talking about kitchens, can you cook? I think we should prepare dinner.”  
“I’ve always wanted to learn it, but it would have offended the elves. Does it help that I was always good at potions?”  
“Want to learn it now? We could start with spaghetti and vegetable sauce. They are easy to do.”  
“Sounds good. Draco would enjoy cooking, too. Oh no, Draco.” Ginny saw the tears welling up in Astoria’s eyes.  
“Your feelings are like an open wound. There are thoughts that will hurt, but eventually, you will heal. If you want to cry, it’s okay.”

Astoria leaned on Ginny’s shoulder as the tears trickled down, and Ginny noticed herself wiping away Astoria’s tears and muttering soft words. She leaned on the counter, hugging Astoria tightly with one arm, and Astoria hugged her back. When Astoria stopped crying, Ginny put the other arm around her, too, and Astoria whispered, “Thank you. This feels good.”  
“Anytime you want, Astoria. I…” No. She had no right to tell her how much she enjoyed holding her. “Astoria, I promise I’ll be there for you.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They turned back to their plan of cooking. Ginny taught Astoria how to cook spaghetti with Sugo, and Astoria learned fast. By the time the food was ready, they were chatting relaxedly about their school days and potions lessons with Snape and Slughorn. Astoria laughed when Ginny presented an imitation of Snape, and then herself imitated Slughorn accurately. A ray of sunshine had snuck into the glum day.  
But then, as they did the dishwashing charm, they heard a sound from the chimney. A look of despair showed up in Astoria’s face. Ginny ushered her up into her study and then left to hurry back down to the men. Now that Astoria was alone, she noticed something strange. She still felt wrapped up in the warmth of Ginny’s hug, even though Ginny had hugged her an hour ago. What made that feeling linger so long? Was it a protective charm? She was still sad about Draco’s cheating on her, but Ginny’s hug had brought hope back to her life in a way she didn’t understand. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In the kitchen, Ginny rounded on Harry and Draco.  
“Well, I don’t need to tell you guys you hurt Astoria. And Draco,” she did not care that she had never been in first name terms with the former Ice Prince of Slytherin before. “Why did you marry a woman on false pretenses? You could have chosen a fake marriage with a pureblood lesbian instead of trying to play the straight man and cheating on your wife. Or, at least you could have told her before marrying her, so she would have had a choice. Why were you so careless with Astoria’s feelings?”

Draco hung his head. “In Slytherin, there had always been rumors that Astoria was a lesbian. At least, she was never seen in Hogsmeade with a boy, and people always saw her there with Giovanna Zabini, Blaise’s junior sister. And then, after school, Giovanna eloped with Gabrielle Delacour. I believed them that she fancied women.”  
“You could have asked her if she did. And even if she loved women, she might still be bi.”  
Draco took a deep breath, then spoke in a depressed tone, “I should have asked, but you know, I still believed in behaving according to my upbringing. I tried to make our marriage work. I would occasionally have a one-night stand but never planned to allow any close relationship outside wedlock. It seemed to work until Harry and I had to cooperate for work. When it was no longer an escapade with just anybody, that changed. For months, I saw Harry daily. I had longed for his love since school days. In school, I used to fight with him just to feel his breath on my face and his touch. It was always painful, wanting him and never having him, but so much better than ignoring each other. And when I saw him again, I gravitated towards him; with both of us being more mature, the fighting was no longer an option. We were not strong enough to resist the real thing.”  
“Draco, Harry, I understand, but Astoria feels humiliated. She thinks she is less lovable than others.”

“Mrs. Potter,” Draco began.  
“It’s Ginny.” She felt irritable, but on the other hand, she understood that shedding the toxicity of a Blood Purist upbringing had to be a long, hard process. She remembered what Remus had told her about how much Sirius had to learn in his Hogwarts years. And Sirius had never believed in his parents’ values.  
“You mean it? You really offer me first name terms?”  
“This is not a time for jokes. And now, what did you want to say?”  
“I don’t love Astoria in a physical way, but I love her very much in any other way — as a very best friend or a sister. I never wanted to hurt her, and it would make me unhappy if we were not to see each other again. She has turned Malfoy Manor into a place that deserves the name home. Discussions with her are precious to me; I always learn something important. In any other way I love her, but the sexual way simply doesn’t work out for me.”  
“This is what I feel for you, Ginny.” Harry interrupted, hoping to appease Ginny.

“I hope and pray that there will be a solution to maintain the friendship that your relationship is based upon. But It can’t be guaranteed. Tell her the truth as soon as she agrees to talk to you. And for now, there is still spaghetti and sauce in the pots. You guys should eat something.”  
“Molly’s genes are showing in your behavior, Ginny,” Harry smiled a tiny smile, filled two plates with food and gave one to Draco.  
“To be honest, I envied the Weasleys in our school days. They were so poor, but always had that warmth about them.” Draco confessed.  
“Yeah, but they also take no nonsense, especially Ginny and her mom, mind you.” Harry grinned. “You guys can talk about my family later. Is there anything important to know for Astoria’s sake?” “See, no nonsense,” Harry commented on Ginny’s question.  
“Ginny, Harry suggested we should stay here until we have talked it over. I packed a bag for Astoria with her medicine and some clothes. And I picked some flowers for her. But maybe you should bring them to her.” Draco’s voice sounded frightened.  
“I think you guys should stay downstairs, and we will be upstairs. Please, if you feel the need to do anything that Astoria should not hear, remember the silencing charm, or I’ll hex you into the next decade.” She took the bag and the flowers and went upstairs. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Surprise showed on Astoria’s face when she saw the flowers and the box of her favorite chocolates that had a card attached.

"Dear Astoria,  
I failed to be the husband you deserve, and I know that if you can ever forgive me, it may not be soon. But I want you to know what you do mean to me. You turned Malfoy Manor into a comfortable place. You taught me to respect others, and you did so with respect for me. I can’t be straight, you know I tried. But you are one of the four people who mean most to me. I hope and pray that one day you will forgive me.  
Draco”

“Ginny, do you think he is telling the truth?”  
“Probably. How do you feel after getting the flowers, the letter, and your bag?”  
“Slightly better. Still sad, but not as worthless as before.”  
Astoria was wringing her hands. Ginny took them and held them softly. “The sadness will heal, and if you want his friendship, you will have it forever. But he will never love you as love should be in a marriage. He isn’t able to do so. Therefore, you have the right to find someone else for this as you overcome your grief. Your needs set the pace of this process.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“I don’t know what to say to him or to your husband.”  
“That’s okay. You can do so tomorrow. For today, what would be good for you?” Ginny took a seat on the azure blue sofa beside Astoria.  
“Cooking felt good, maybe doing something that people do in a household without elves could be interesting.”  
“Well, there is not so much to do now, but how about watching a quiz show on TV.”  
“Quiz show? Veetee? Veetee, like that Muggle portrait theatre box?”  
“Yes. And a quiz show is a kind of competition between Muggles, about who knows more.”  
“Sounds interesting. Ginny, is this a pull-out couch? I feel like lying on it, but I don’t want to be alone now.”  
“I could also sit on the chair and you could lie on the sofa like this.”

Ginny moved to get up, but Astoria grabbed her hand and nudged her back down. “Please, Ginny, it would feel like in the old days in our dorm with my friend Giovanna. She was my last really close friend. We would push our beds together and play chess or Exploding Snap.”  
_Merlin, she really makes it hard to keep my walls from falling down. I don’t want a crush on a straight woman. But she needs someone to comfort her. I must pull myself together_ , Ginny thought as she got up. She pulled out the bed function, brought pillows and a quilt, and turned the TV on.  
They both lay comfortably on the bed-sofa and tried to guess the questions. It was fun, but after some time, first Ginny and then Astoria, dozed off. The enchanted TV turned itself off magically when both were asleep.


	2. Second Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Astoria has a talk with Draco.

Ginny woke up from the sound of a whistling tea kettle from downstairs. She felt a warm weight on her; it didn’t feel like a blanket at all. What was that? She was lying on her back and felt a hand on her bare stomach, and a leg across her own legs. As she carefully turned her head, she looked into hazel eyes. Astoria! This felt so good, but she knew Astoria had not consciously cuddled with her. She had instead moved over in her sleep, pushing her pajama top slightly up. So, it meant nothing.  
“Good morning, Ginny.” Astoria’s voice sounded sleepy. Wow, how beautiful it sounded. Ginny became aware that this was more than just attraction: She was falling in love. _Not good, not good at all._  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
“Good morning, how are you feeling?”  
“Better, thank you. And thank you for casting a protective charm over me yesterday. Well, I didn’t even notice when you did so, but you must have; I felt so safe, despite what happened.”  
Ginny sat up. “Astoria, dear, I didn’t cast any such spell. I would have if necessary, but you would have known. But talking to a friend if you are in distress can do a lot. I learned from my muggleborn friends, especially from Hermione, that sometimes the charms and spells are just redundant, and we can rely on the resilience we were born with. A charm subsides, and we are back with our pain, but the emotional healing a friend or family member can do by being there for you lasts.”  
“Whatever it was, I simply want to thank you. I don’t know what would have happened yesterday without you.”  
“That’s what friends are for.”  
Astoria wondered for a long time what to reply. She was sure that none of the people she knew, apart from Ginny, would have made her feel as protected, as respected, or as cared for, with the strongest charms and spells at their command as Ginny had without using any magic at all.  
“Should I fetch breakfast?” Ginny broke the silence.  
“Sounds good. But are we eating here?”  
“They are downstairs. The choice is yours.” She walked to the bedroom door.  
“Food and difficult topics don’t go together well. But I think after breakfast I could be ready.”  
Ginny gave a thumbs up and descended the stairs.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Harry was frying pancakes, while Draco was pressing oranges. “Morning, Ginny, breakfast is on us. Thank you for the delicious dinner yesterday;” Harry greeted her.  
“Good morning, guys. Astoria sends her greetings. She will come down to talk after breakfast.” “Ginny, how is she? Is there anything I can do?” Draco’s voice was shaky.  
“Tell her the truth, no tricks. And give her all the time she needs to become your friend again. Harry, could you please help me in the cellar for a minute?”  
They descended to the cellar. “What do you need from here?”  
“Nothing. I just wanted to know if Draco still said anything important? I simply want to know if Astoria needs more protection.”  
“You seem so protective, and you slept in the same room with her. I noticed when I fetched Jamie’s pillow for Draco. Is anything going on between you two?”  
“That would be convenient for you and Draco. Well, only if sex nowadays sounds like a game show on TV.”  
“So, you two fell asleep watching TV?”  
“Yes, but concerning my protectiveness… well…”  
“You are falling in love. I already thought so on Sirius Black Memorial Day.”  
“My feelings mean nothing, as long as they are unrequited.”  
Harry gave her a hug. “I hope she discovers how awesome you are, and I hope she feels as you feel. It’s been a long time since Megan broke up with you. If she feels the same, go for it.”  
“Just because Draco is gay, doesn’t make her lesbian or bi. And even if she were, it would not mean that it is me she might fancy.” She sighed.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
As soon as Ginny disappeared upstairs with a tray of food, Harry turned to Draco. “Did Astoria notice Ginny on Sirius Black Memorial Day?”  
“Yes, and even before that, she always spoke with so much interest and respect for Ginny. Although she never spoke to her outside group discussions before the Memorial Day, she kept speaking about her. Why?”  
“Ginny is so protective about Astoria.”  
Draco lifted one eyebrow.  
“Dray, as much as I dream of it happening, you can’t just assume it will,” he forced himself to say.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Astoria and Ginny enjoyed the breakfast of pancakes with fruits and chocolate, green tea, and freshly pressed orange juice. “If the occasion were better, staying over at your place would be very enjoyable.”  
“Next time, floo over just for fun. I’ll be happy. And for now, you can stay as long as you need to.” _What am I doing? I will feel more for her. And she will only feel friendship. I am walking into the heartache with my eyes open._  
Astoria gave her a hug. “Thank you so much. And again, I’m lagging behind Slytherin standards.”  
“Become an honorary Gryffindor.”  
“But I’m scared of talking to Draco.”  
“Being brave doesn’t mean that you don’t know fear, but that you overcome it.”  
Without thinking, Astoria reached out and wrapped her hand around Ginny's, and both women descended the stairs.  
The two women sat on the one sofa, the men on the other. A tense silence filled the room. Finally, Draco began speaking. “I decided to take Veritaserum before saying anything. I want to prove that I tell the full truth and nothing but the truth.” He pulled a vial out of his pocket and took a few drops.  
“Draco, why did you marry me?”  
“My parents made me choose between three women. One reminded me of Bellatrix, one was equally bad, and then there was you. Not only were you the best choice among the three of you, but I felt if it could work with any woman at all, then it would be with you. You had questioned our ancestors’ beliefs, even before I started questioning them, and I felt I could see you as a friend. And I was right about it. I asked Slytherins from your year about you. They warned me you might prefer women, since you were so close to Giovanna Zabini. Well, they didn’t know my own problems. But I lacked the courage to ask you if you had feelings for women, I just hoped you would. When there was no turning back, and we were married, I saw that you had not dated women, I just tried to make our marriage function, suppressing my own sexual preference. But occasionally, I would have one-night stands. Then, when Harry’s Auror department had to work with our firm over a longer period of time and I saw him twice a week, I became weak. I had been in love with Harry from school. I would start all those fights with him in school, because it was the only way I could touch him and get a nose full of his scent without Crabbe and Goyle noticing what it was about. Only Blaise was not fooled by the charade. He knew even before me. But I could always trust him, that’s why he is Scorpius’ Godfather. Astoria, still you mean so much to me. I feel for you like for a very best friend or a sister. I am scared that you might never talk to me again.”  
Astoria took a sip of water. Her throat felt dry. She began with a weak voice, but as she spoke it grew stronger. “Draco Malfoy, I promise, if you swear upon your magic never to lie to me about your love life again, I will start forgiving you. That doesn’t mean everything is okay now, forgiveness is a process that can take time. But you are not losing me completely. I want to talk a little to you about it now, and then I expect you to give me some time to figure out things for myself. Ginny, Harry, could you leave us alone for a few minutes?”  
The Potters left the room, and Astoria continued: “Furthermore, you opened my eyes about you and me. We are friends, but I also don’t really feel more than I would for a brother. You might have been right, I’m not sure yet, … There is something … very confusing… I never felt like that before.”  
“When you are around Ginny?”  
“Mhm, she’s awesome. You know … Giovanna never even shook hands with me. We would talk without end, but in all our school days, we never touched. Even when we pushed our beds together to play chess while lying down. The day before she eloped, she told me to remember that she always ‘kept a respectful distance.’ I only understood the meaning when I heard that she had eloped with another girl.”  
“Oh, Astoria. Sorry. I’m so sorry.”  
“I enjoyed Giovanna’s presence more than anybody else’s at that time. Talking to her gave me such a safe and warm feeling. But, at that time, I was not mature enough to make sense of it. Yesterday, when I flooed here and Ginny calmed me and was there for me, I had similar feelings. And Ginny doesn’t avoid physical contact as Giovanna did. When I cried, she hugged me. I don’t know if it means, I might be beginning to fall in love, or what. All I am sure of is, I want to be around Ginny for some more time.”  
“Look where it is leading you. I think it sounds like you are really beginning to fall in love.”  
“But she… she is a quidditch star; she has experience, and is beautiful. I’m not in her league… and I’m not healthy. You know that my life expectancy is shorter than normal. And I have gained so much weight from the potions I have to take.”  
“The curse is even more reason to seize the day. And this is no quidditch match where league matters. If you don’t try, you have lost already.”  
“Does she love women?”  
“But you know she does. Spend the rest of the long weekend with her. Get to know her better and let her answer the question for herself as to how close she wants to be to you.”  
“Draco, it is okay for me to see you during meals, to see the Draco you are in Potter house, but for now I can’t bear to see you at the Manor playing the role as Head of the Malfoy family.  
Spend the time here with Harry. It’s a trust issue, not a can’t-bear-to-see-you-around issue. Well, actually, I don’t understand that all, but since you told me that I mean something to you as a friend, it is no longer hurtful to see you. I just need a new balance. You loving a man, me pining for a woman and figuring out she is not the first woman I have had feelings for ... it feels like the ground under my feet is shaking. My moods changed from wanting to have a talk with you, to not wanting to see you, and back, within a day. It’s weird.”  
“Astoria, that’s normal. You are coming out to yourself. Any time you want me to be away, tell me. I’ll do so at once. And you can also Accio me.”  
“But that’s rude to Accio people.”  
“I owe you so much. Allowing you to Accio me is the least I can do, after getting married to you on false pretenses. You had never made sense of your preference.I knew mine all too well.”  
“You said you tried to make it work between us. Thank you. Although, I always felt it didn’t. But you are a good father for Scorpius, and you do your best to make good for the damage you caused, even while you still believed the nonsense we grew up with. You were lousy at making me feel appreciated as a wife. But today you made me feel appreciated as a friend. Well, how could somebody appreciate a wife if he needs a husband? Somewhere inside I feel grumpy towards you for never asking me if I were a lesbian. But I’m more annoyed at Lucius and Cissa for not allowing you to be yourself.”  
“Mother is only figuring out who she herself is, now that Father is in St. Mungo’s. Her parents taught her to be a puppet. She grew up seeing everyone with a spark of individuality being burnt out of the family tree, or even killed.”  
“I know. Her strongest impulse in life is her love for you, her only child.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Meanwhile, outside, Ginny was pacing the floor nervously and ranting, “One rude word to Astoria and I’ll hex Draco into next month. Has he changed enough not to hurt her any more? She can stay here to figure out what she wants to do now. I hope I can help her, Bymerlingodricrowenaandhelga!”  
The doors of the hall opened, and Astoria appeared between them. Both women rushed towards each other, reaching out for the other one’s hand.  
“Are you okay, Astoria? Is there anything I can do for you?”  
“Thank you. I think I must figure out how things will go on now. All I know for now is, after talking to Draco, it is okay that he is around, as long as I don’t have to see my mother-in-law at the same time. Please, can you have time for me today?”  
“Today and tomorrow and whenever you need me. Do you want to stay here for now, until Scorpius comes back?”  
“Oh, could I? I feel safe and comforted around you. But he is staying with Blaise for a full week.”  
“It’s my pleasure to accommodate you for that week. I enjoy your company. You know we are between Quidditch seasons, so I’m on vacation.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
When they cut a salad for lunch, they listened to music by a muggle singer called Tracy Chapman. Ginny sang along with a song called ‘Open Arms.’ Astoria was moved by the music and the words. It was what she was longing for, to be loved, and for the love she had to give to be welcomed. She was crying because of the beauty of the moment: Ginny’s voice singing along, Ginny and her spending time cutting vegetables together, Ginny noticing every emotion Astoria had and responding with so much affection, even though before yesterday they had only known each other from Reconciliation Committee and charities. On the other hand, she knew what Ginny stood for, her style of discussion, and how she would respond if others made unreflected statements.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
After lunch there was a knock at the door.  
“Come in. We’re fine with seeing you.” Astoria called out, as Harry’s head appeared in the door. “Have some salad and wash the dishes after lunch.” Ginny added.  
“You really included us, when you prepared food?” Draco said admiringly.  
“Don’t be silly, we prepared food, you’ll clean the kitchen; we kept the nicer job to ourselves.” Astoria chimed in, smiling mischievously. “Maybe I messed up things more than necessary.”  
“By Salazar! You are still Slytherin enough. I was afraid you would turn into a Hufflepuff.”  
“I really like Hufflepuffs, but if I wanted to be anything other than a Slytherin, it could only be a Gryffindor. And I know you wonder how it would have been to live in the tower.”  
Ginny gave Astoria a surprised and admiring look. The blonde woman really managed to have a relaxed, joking conversation with Draco just one day after walking in on him and Harry. But then doubt kicked in. Did Astoria really have this much resilience, or was it an attitude of ‘The show must go on’? Ginny had to find out. She swore to herself to make protecting Astoria as high of a priority as raising Jamie, Lily and Al, no matter the consequences.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
The rest of the day passed with the Potters taking two fascinated Malfoys to a Muggle Supermarket, splitting up the shopping list in half between women and men, and competing to see who would reach the cash register the fastest with all that was on their half of the list. Harry and Draco arrived slightly earlier, but on checking the list, half the groceries were missing. Instead Draco had loaded lots of unnecessary things, such as light bulbs for a type of lamp that neither the Potters nor the Malfoys had, diapers, half the fashion magazines the market had for sale, pin curlers, and an ugly shower curtain with garden gnomes on it. Ginny told the men to go back to return all the nonsense items, and to bring the missing groceries and the dishwashing soap that had been on the list. Draco tried to complain, but Harry chuckled. “She is right. You know, you also can’t make Polyjuice potion with ladybugs instead of lacewing flies.”  
“It was worth trying.”  
“How did you excel in Snape’s class?” Astoria teased, as Harry and Draco walked off.  
Faster than the women expected, the men returned with the missing items, and the addition of two rubber ducks, one in red and the other one in black with a Darth Vader helmet. Ginny almost collapsed laughing, as Harry muttered helplessly, “And I thought once Arthur got over his rubber duck obsession, we would be free from rubber ducks for the rest of our lives.”  
“To quote your lover’s younger self, my father will hear about this.” Ginny finally gasped between bursts of laughter.  
Ginny’s laughter was contagious, and soon Harry, Astoria and even Draco chimed in. For the first time in her life, Astoria felt completely at ease, despite fully knowing that people turned their heads because she was laughing loud in public. And people didn’t look irritated, they smiled at them. Passing by a Turkish diner as they left the shop, they bought Falafel Dürüm for dinner, before spending the evening at at Dennis Creevey’s Gallery for the opening reception of Dean’s new exhibition.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
An hour after going to bed, Ginny woke up from a knock at her door. She got up, put on her nightgown, and opened the door. “Astoria? You can’t sleep?”  
“Feeling a little confused and shocked at myself.”  
“Come in. Though I can only offer you a seat on my bed.”  
“That’s okay.”  
Both sat down on the bed cross-legged, and Ginny spread the blanket over both their laps.  
“So, why are you shocked?”  
“I should be devastated at Draco loving Harry, but since he told me that he feels for me rather like for a sister, it is sort of as if someone had taken a load off my back.”  
“It’s normal. You probably also haven’t had the type of feelings for him that belong to a marriage. Whatever your type is like, he probably never was your type. But it’s a good thing, that neither of you have any heartache, so that your friendship can be free from scars.”  
“Yes, but what will my father say? And Narcissa? And most important of all, Scorpius?”  
“Start by figuring out what _you_ need, before thinking about your father and Narcissa. They are old enough to cope with whatever you do, once you are ready to tell them. And concerning Scorpius: You and Draco are friends; you both are there for him and raise him with love. You will find a solution with which he can be happy. Think of Jamie, Lily and Al. They don’t know us sleeping in one bedroom, but they know us being at ease, and enjoying each other’s company as friends. They know us to have reasonable discussions whenever we disagree, and if one of us needs help, the other one is there. That is what children need.”  
“Thank you. Can I stay here? To keep those thoughts at bay?”  
“Okay, but we should really try to sleep. It’s late.” _Merlin! I must be crazy._


	3. Third day

It had taken Ginny a very long time to fall asleep. She had listened to Astoria’s soft breathing, studying her features by the light of the full moon. She longed to kiss Astoria, to get more of her delicate scent of Neroli and green tea with just a whiff of paint.  
‘I wonder if this is what Amortentia would smell like for me? I’m the only Weasley who never had an opportunity to smell Amortentia, since the Carrows took it out of the curriculum in my sixth year thinking love was irrelevant for Purebloods.’  
After a very long time Ginny had finally managed to doze off.  
She woke up when the sun was shining into the room. Astoria was sleeping rather all over her than beside her. Ginny felt caught between the sweetness of feeling their bodies in contact with each other, a longing for it to mean something, and the bitter knowledge, that after Astoria cuddled up to her tonight, it would be hard not to make her feel disappointed if she were to tell her. After all, Astoria was surely not doing so intentionally. Carefully and slowly, in order not to wake her, Ginny shifted towards the edge of the bed, finally crawling out of it via the floor.  
After Astoria woke and they had eaten some breakfast, Astoria asked Ginny, if she could paint a picture in the garden. She quickly fetched an easel, a palette and paints from the Manor and painted Ginny in the garden, lying on a blanket beside the pond. Ginny pretended to read as she watched Astoria over the edge of her book, wishing this moment could last. When it was time to prepare lunch, Astoria had almost completed the picture, humming sweet little tunes under her breath.  
For lunch they prepared a gazpacho and baguette. The men came in, and the four of them ate together.  
“How about Topsy preparing dinner today? I could call her from the Manor.” Draco asked.  
“So, you already had enough of the elfless experiment?” Harry teased him.  
“I thought it would be less work. After all, Astoria and I have no idea how to cook, and it leaves all the responsibility on you.”  
“Cutting food ingredients is not so different from cutting potion ingredients. We can assist Ginny and Harry, and it is appropriate to do so. And I, for my part, enjoy learning something new.” Astoria smiled.  
“Well, me too, but I thought we should have something better to contribute, as we are staying here for now.”  
“Why so formal, prince of Slytherin alumni?” Harry lifted one eyebrow.  
Seeing the men copying each other's behavior was a bit surprising, and Ginny and Astoria looked at each other and laughed. The Slytherin alumna seemed extradinarily cheerful this morning, and Ginny was happy to hear Astoria's laughter. “How about ordering Sushi tonight?” Ginny suggested.  
“It’s food, isn’t it?” Draco revealed his ignorance of Japanese cuisine.  
“Japanese rice rolls with seaweed, filled either with fish or vegetables,” Harry explained.  
Astoria was excited at the idea of trying something she didn’t know yet, and Draco consented, showing no emotion.  
“Harry, you teach him the dishwashing charm; we prepared lunch, you guys tidy up,” Ginny decided.  
“Astoria, are you too annoyed at me for the four of us to do something together? Harry told me about a Muggle game that is played by four people, and I think it could be a nice holiday activity.”  
Harry shot him a surprised look, and Draco winked at him.  
‘Hope he knows what he’s doing’ Ginny thought.  
“Well, okay, and what is the game about?”  
“It’s called Pictionary.”  
“Ginny, wasn’t that one round of the quiz show the day before yesterday?”  
“Yes, it was. What do you think?” Ginny carefully asked.  
“Ginny, if you are on my team, always.”  
“Playing parlor games is Astoria’s secret passion,” Draco told Harry.  
“Mine, too,” Ginny laughed. The women high-fived, and Ginny realized why Draco had suggested it. ‘He knows what she likes to do. If she feels okay with his presence, maybe it helps to get used to it. Although, it seems odd, but it looks as if it works.’  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
The women clearly were winning the game, and with every point they won, Astoria hugged Ginny, who was torn between enjoying the contact and being afraid she might get swept away by her feelings. The men smiled at each other with every point they made, until Astoria said, “I won’t freak out. It’s okay if you kiss.” Ginny took her hand and gave her an impressed look.  
“The sooner I get used to it, the sooner I will feel free,” she said, loud enough for everyone to hear.  
“Wow, did the hat offer you Gryffindor, too? You are so brave,” Harry exclaimed.  
“The hat didn’t, but Ginny did.”  
“We only let you go, if we get Harry.” Draco pulled Harry into a hug and kissed him.  
Time was flying, and after some time, Astoria needed to go to the bathroom. She heard Draco, Harry and Ginny talking about Quidditch. Draco’s voice didn’t give her a sting, and Ginny’s voice gave her a warm and safe feeling in her stomach. Draco had never made her feel like this, even when they were doing all the things that couples normally do, so this was a completely different matter.  
She looked at her blushing reflection in the mirror. “Face the facts: you are feeling something for Ginny Potter that you never felt for any man. Astoria, you are falling in love. And what am I going to do now? Maybe enjoy what I get while I get it,” she whispered to her reflection, surprised by her own courage.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Meanwhile Ginny was already longing for Astoria to come back into the room.  
‘Shit, I’m having a crush like a teenager. I must protect myself, too. I must find out what she thinks when she reaches out for contact like that. If it means nothing to her, I must keep my distance.’  
“Draco, is Astoria normally someone who hugs people a lot?” she dared ask.  
“Well, she will hug Scorpius a lot more in the presence of others than my mother would hug me in the presence of others when I was a child. But, you know, hugging among grown-ups is not really appreciated among Slytherin alumni. But with you, she seems to let go of all the rules and just live. Thank you so much for being there for her.” He put his hands on her shoulders, as close to a hug as he would give someone who was not Scorpius, his mother or Harry. Ginny understood the gesture. She smiled.  
“You act as if you welcomed her as a sister-in-law. The prince of Slytherin alumni welcomes a Weasley into his family. If someone had told me in fifth year that this would happen, I would have told Poppy to take them to the Janus Thickey ward.” Harry teased.  
Ginny thought she saw a mischievous look in the blonde man’s eyes, as he went into Harry’s room. Harry looked quite surprised. “Did I go too far, Ginny?”  
“I don’t think so. It looked like he’s up to something,” she replied as Astoria re-emerged from the bathroom, brushing her hand against Ginny’s shoulder as she sat down.  
“Did I miss anything?”  
“Just that we don’t know what Draco is doing.”  
“This!” Draco stuck his head out from Harry’s room. “Ladies and Gentleman, the fashion icon of the wizarding world presents a new retro style, a pledge of allegiance to three of the now five most important people in my life.” His head disappeared behind the door again, then he opened the door fully, dressed in one of Harry’s Weasley sweaters. “I solemnly swear that I will wear it in any place I go, every day you lend it to me.”  
Everyone in the room knew that what looked like a self-ironic joke, was actually the biggest gesture Draco could show a Weasley.  
Astoria took Ginny’s hand and held it, while looking at Draco and mouthing “I’m proud of you.”  
Ginny’s mind had embarked on a rollercoaster. She enjoyed the feeling of Astoria’s soft hand in hers, and on the other hand, worrying that the physical contact might not mean to Astoria what it meant to Ginny.  
They continued the game, and the women won, although Ginny found it hard to concentrate.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
As their dinner had arrived, Astoria tugged at Ginny’s sleeve: “Could we eat alone upstairs? I think I have watched those lovebirds enough for today.” That was an excuse. She felt rather like being alone with Ginny, and to get to know more about her.  
“And what would you like to do after dinner?” Ginny asked.  
“How about an evening walk in the Manor park?”  
“Manor, as in Malfoy Manor?” Ginny shot Astoria a surprised look.  
“Remember, that’s where I live, and the garden has some awesome sights.”  
“Will Mrs. Malfoy Senior approve of you inviting a Weasley over? Your in-laws taught Draco quite a bad attitude towards our family.” Skepticism showed in Ginny’s voice.  
“Now that Draco is the head of the Malfoy family, since Lucius is no longer capable of deciding anything, she has become meeker. She even admits without being asked that she is missing Andromeda, Sirius and Regulus, and not missing Bellatrix at all.” Astoria replied reassuringly.  
“Well, okay. If it is no problem, why not.” Ginny consented, still sounding skeptical.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
“Would you like to try eating the sushi with chopsticks? I can teach you how to. Hermione taught me when I was in seventh year.”  
“Chopsticks? You mean these fake wands without a core or magic that are packed in pairs with the food?”  
Ginny laughed. “Yes, you hold them like this, and then use them like pliers to pick up one maki - that is, one piece of roll - dip it in the soy sauce and eat it.” She demonstrated it with a piece of avocado maki. Astoria tried, too, but it fell back on the plate a few times. As it was close to coming apart, Ginny took it with her chopsticks and fed Astoria with it.  
“If you want, you use your hands. We are not in a posh restaurant.”  
“Use my hands?” Astoria’s eyes sparkled. “You mean eat completely unceremoniously? Could you eat unceremoniously, too?”  
“For today, yes, but before we ever go to an Asian muggle restaurant together, you need to learn to eat with chopsticks.”  
“Yes, Professor,” Astoria laughed, picked up a kappa maki, and stuck it into Ginny’s mouth, touching the inside of her lips with her fingers for a short moment.  
‘Damn, does she know what she is doing? Is she flirting with me, or is she completely unaware of the effect of the things she is doing?’  
“Uh, Astoria, we have nothing to drink. Let me fetch something from downstairs. Would you like water, pumpkin juice, wine, or tea?” She had to get a few minutes to calm down, or she would start kissing Astoria.  
“Wine mixed with water would taste the best now without getting drunk so easily,” Astoria replied.  
“White wine?”  
“Uh huh.”  
Ginny did her best to go to the door at a normal pace, but after closing the door, she ran like crazy. She felt like running around the house three times.  
In the kitchen she saw Harry and Draco, who had shed their t-shirts, and Draco balanced an Alaska Maki on his chest.  
“Sorry, guys, I just need something to drink for Astoria. She wants wine with water.” Ginny reached for wine glasses and the round tray.  
Draco took the Alaska Maki off, and both men got up.  
“I said I didn’t mean to disturb you guys,” Ginny exclaimed apologetically.  
“But I know what wine Astoria will enjoy most. Wait here, I’ll bring one.” Draco hurried off to the cellar.  
“Huh, I thought we were at home here?” Ginny muttered fretfully.  
“Hey, you look like someone cast a confundus on you. I think Draco wants to give you a chance to talk to me. What happened?”  
“Astoria. She is driving me crazy. I had to run away, or I would have just kissed her. If a team colleague in my Quidditch days had behaved like her, I would have assumed that she wants me. But I can’t just assume that a pureblood woman from a conservative family, who has never had anything with another woman, will mean it like that. Damn, she is feeding me Sushi with her hand! This morning, I woke up with her cuddling up to me and her hand resting on my bare stomach, and that already for the second time. And I can’t just say ‘Astoria, keep more distance or I’ll lose control.’ Bloody hell! I’d scare the shit out of her!” Ginny ranted.  
“Uh-oh, you really are upset. Well, I don’t know how to interpret it. I mean Draco is not a woman, and I know that gender roles play a bigger part among those families. Do you think you could ask Draco whether he thinks she is flirting? And if so, whether he thinks she does so consciously.”  
“You know him better than me. Will it be safe to ask him?”  
“Definitely. He wants Astoria to be happy, she is his friend, exactly the way you are my friend.”  
“Ask me what?” Draco’s voice rang out from the corridor.  
“I – don’t – quite – know – how to – interpret – Astoria’s – behavior.” Ginny spoke hesitantly.  
“And that frightens you?” the blond man concluded.  
“If someone else, someone more experienced behaved like this, I would assume she is flirting really hard. But I can’t just … if I’m mistaken …” She lowered her gaze.  
“And what do you feel?”  
“Ginny is falling in love.” Harry declared.  
She nodded weakly.  
Draco patted her on the shoulder. “You could make Astoria happy, but you must take it slow. She is only just figuring out her feelings for you. But she lights up when you look at her. And now, take the Pinot Gris and find a subtle way of wooing her. You have my blessings.”  
Still nervous, she got back to her room, where she saw Astoria practicing with the chopsticks, picking an eraser up with them and carrying it from the left hand side of the table to its right hand side and back.  
“Wow, you are learning it fast!” Ginny exclaimed.  
“But I won’t use these chopsticks for food anymore without washing them.”  
“Of course not. But I must invite you to a restaurant soon,” She winked.  
“I’ll practice every day till then.” Astoria’s face shone with delight. “Mmm, those Sushi taste so de-li-cious.” She simultaneously took two kampyo makis and put one in Ginny’s mouth and the other in her own. Again, Ginny felt Astoria’s fingers at her lips. After she finished chewing, she gathered her courage and picked an avocado nigiri with her right hand, dipping it into the soy sauce and moving it to Astoria’s lips. Astoria bit half off, brushing her lips past Ginny’s fingers. All the nerves in Ginny’s fingers seemed to sing like a choir. Her hand wouldn’t move away from where it was, and after chewing and swallowing, Astoria’s tender lips returned for the rest of the nigiri.  
“You do enjoy the Sushi,” Ginny commented, noticing Astoria’s delight. ‘And I enjoy the touch of your fingers and your lips.’  
“Time for a guided tour of the Manor park!” Astoria’s voice was full of enthusiasm. “Narcissa always visits Lucius in St. Mungo’s around this time. So, she will not overhear any conversation we have. Do you agree to Apparate?”  
“Why not?”  
It would have been enough to hold hands, but Astoria hugged Ginny tight, full contact. The feeling of this hug outshone the usual unpleasant feelings of apparating, and Ginny was surprised, when she found herself beside a picturesque lake.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
“Inside the house can still be a little intimidating, but this part of the park is really where I feel at home at the Manor. Although, Potter House has a more homey feeling about it in the way it is built. You know, not for entertaining, but for living comfortably. You know, Draco and I have cleared out some of the worst things from our space inside, but for many things, Lucius and Narcissa vetoed. But here, by the lake, is where I feel comfortable. Behind that little hill over there, a gazebo is hidden. It’s what I want to show you.”  
Astoria spoke without a break about everything and nothing. She at least tried to distract herself and Ginny from what she had noticed was her real reason of wanting to take her to the gazebo. It was one of the most romantic places she knew in the wizarding world, and the one with the least probability of seeing anybody else. As far as she knew, her in-laws didn’t come here often, and Draco and Harry had planned to go to a cinema, whatever that was. She longed to sit on the bench in the gazebo, lean on Ginny’s shoulder and watch the sun set.  
As they approached the gazebo, a figure, dressed in white was leaning over the railing, obviously looking their way. “Shit, that’s Narcissa. We have to pretend to talk about official matters.”  
“Don’t worry, I think I can do that. Do you think I became the number one Quidditch commentator by chance? Or patron of the War Orphan Charity? Wait, WOC, that’s it.”  
As they moved into earshot, Ginny imitated the tone Professor Vector had always used towards those of her colleagues she was not so close to. “Oh, Astoria, how lovely that you and your husband are considering allowing us to take some photos for the charity’s calendar at your vast and awesome park. People are sure to buy lots of copies. The orphans will get so much help. Thank you, you really are a lovely couple”  
“Astoria,” Narcissa called out from the gazebo. The two younger women approached her, keeping an official distance between each other.  
“Do you remember Mrs. Potter. She is looking for a location for her Happy Children’s Tales calendar for the benefit of the WOC. Draco and I have suggested the Manor Park. You know it will suit Draco’s reputation.”  
“Yes, I suppose. Associating with charity has always been good for business, and Draco has always had a certain … curiosity about Mr. Potter.” The way Narcissa pronounced the word curiosity made Astoria feel uneasy. Did she know more?  
“How is Lucius doing? You must have come back early today. I hope he is alright?”  
“They gave him a sleeping potion, so he didn’t even notice I was there. Tomorrow, new liver healing charms will be performed. It was scheduled for next week, but the healer surprisingly had a cancellation.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
“Mrs. Malfoy, I wish your husband a full and quick recovery,” Ginny chimed in politely.  
“He won’t recover. It is just to enhance his quality of life and perhaps enable him to see Scorpius get on the Hogwarts Express. My husband ruined his life when he joined You-Know-Who. And I thank Merlin that he didn’t ruin Draco’s life as well, as much as I question some of Draco’s most recent choices.”  
“Ginny, if you walk down that path you will find a beautiful weeping willow. It would make such a beautiful scenery for the niffler Animagus story.” Ginny took the hint that Astoria wanted to have a talk with Narcissa alone. She ambled down the path, sat down on a small rock under the willow, and gazed into the greenish lake. Her memory strayed to last Sirius Black Memorial Day. She indulged in thoughts of decorating the stage with Astoria, Luna, and Melisa Demir from Hufflepuff; Astoria and herself working side by side; Astoria’s speech; meetings of the Committee, Friends of Hogwarts, Sirius and Regulus Black Museum Society and WOC. With all these meetings they had seen each other almost every week, but never talked about anything personal. Yet, there had been a few things she’d learned about Astoria. For example, she was a brilliant listener, asking the right questions with an empathy that Ginny had previously never considered to be possible in a Slytherin alumna. Astoria’s questions were sure to lead to hearing different sides of each story.  
Ginny had watched Astoria closely in every meeting, memorizing her gestures, facial expressions, choice of words and intonation. Astoria could be as posh as Draco, but with other people as down-to-earth as Ginny’s mother. Ginny’s thread of thought led her to Astoria’s delicate hands as she learned the dishwashing charm, and then to holding hands.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Meanwhile, Astoria stayed with Narcissa, asking a few questions about Lucius’ treatment, until Narcissa interrupted her. “I think you want to know about what choices of Draco’s I mean.”  
“Err, yes, but if it is the fact of accepting that the Manor is becoming a Ministry guesthouse, and the Malfoys being the caretakers and inhabiting only the East wing, I think we must feel grateful it wasn’t seized completely.”  
“I mean something else. How is Draco behaving towards you and Scorpius?”  
“He respects me as I want to be respected, and he is the best father for Scorpius I could ever imagine.” Astoria deflected.  
“Is he forgetting his obligations towards you?”  
“What do you mean? Do I look like someone who is starved or not well-clothed? Yesterday he even told me to Accio him if I want to talk to him. Would Lucius ever have allowed you to Accio him?”  
“No, never. And whatever he says, don’t Accio him, it could hurt you.”  
“You mean it could hurt him.”  
A panicked look appeared on Narcissa’s usually very composed face. “I’ll brew Amortentia, and you must slip it into his food.”  
“WHAT?”  
“You have almost lost him. Be a good Slytherin and win him back.”  
Astoria stared at her, mouth open, lost for words. Finally, she snapped: “I won’t make him unable to decide whether to consent. That would be betraying him. Please, stop it now.”  
“It may be your last chance. Your marriage is at high risk. Draco is allowing Potter to have his way with him for advantages.”  
“Pardon?”  
“Last week I saw them right here. Both their pants were down, and Potter was doing unspeakable things with him.”  
“Things Unspeakables would do, or did they have sexual intercourse?”  
“How can you take it so lightly? He is playing the whore.”  
“Narcissa, calm down, I know of Draco’s love for Harry and Harry’s love for Draco. The advantage they seek in it is being with each other, nothing else. And if I, being married to him, can live with it, so can you.”  
“Have you lost your mind? What if he casts you out? What happened to the old Pureblood ways?”  
“They caused the problem in the first place. Draco is gay. He tried to make it work with me, but I felt all along that he wasn’t able to love me the way he wanted to love, and I wanted to be loved. But we are close as friends, so I know I can trust him. We both should have had the chance to choose between all grownups of the whole world, and not between three candidates. We should have had the time to look for the best one.” She tried not to let her voice sound harsh, despite being angry.  
“I don’t understand the new times.” Narcissa grumbled: “Rules seem to be of no importance anymore. I have to choose between my son and my daughter-in-law, who is a kind woman.”  
Astoria took Narcissa’s hand. “I understand, when you were young, gays’ names were burnt out of the family tree.”  
She heard her mother-in-law sob and murmur something like “Draco now acts like Sirius.”  
“You missed Sirius, after he was disowned, you told me. Please, don’t turn against Draco. You won’t lose me. I’m the mother of your grandson. And Draco is the same as before you knew about this, only he can be happy with Harry, and have me as a friend.”  
“I love you like my own daughter. Please, don’t leave me.”  
Astoria gave Narcissa a hug. “I won’t. Are you telling Lucius about it?”  
“He would react like my parents. I’ll keep it secret. Whom do I have apart from Draco and you? But why are you so accepting of it? Do you have a lover?”  
“No, but I know now, that if I could choose Draco for a place in my life, I would choose him as my brother instead of husband. And as far as I am concerned, I have two mothers. One died when I was a child. The second one is you.”  
“Draco doesn’t know what a precious woman he married. If he knew…”  
“He would still be gay. Being gay is nothing people choose. They are, or they are not. Furthermore, he chose me because there was the rumor that I fancy women.”  
“I guess I need time to think about all these things. It is hard for an old woman to grasp. And you must attend to your guest.”  
“Narcissa.”  
“Yes.”  
“I’m visiting Ginny Potter for this week, we have a lot to discuss. Please, owl me if you need to talk about it. And remember this is a matter between Draco, Harry and me. He doesn’t love and respect you any less than he used to.”  
After bidding each other goodbye, Narcissa trudged to the East wing, and Astoria hurried down to the lake, to Ginny.  
The ginger witch had transfigured the stone into a comfortable outdoors sofa, long enough for two people to lie on it. She was sprawling on it and looking at a swan that was swimming on the lake. Astoria stopped in her tracks and marveled at how unusual and yet perfect the sofa with Ginny looked on the lake shore. Her heart was beating fast, as Ginny’s glorious red hair seemed to shine with the setting sun. Slowly, Astoria resumed walking towards Ginny.  
“Ginny, your hair looks so beautiful when the setting sun shines on it,” she breathed.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Ginny sat up, putting her feet on the ground. “Astoria, you were right. This place is gorgeous. How was the conversation with your mother-in-law?”  
“She saw Draco and Harry, quote ‘doing unspeakable things’ with their pants down recently.”  
“Shit! Did they want to get caught? How did she react?”  
“She is distressed. She feels like Draco acts like Sirius, and she is scared of losing me if we divorce. She even wanted me to give him Amortentia! I told her she is like a second mother to me and reminded her how much she missed Sirius after he was disowned. She also promised not to tell Lucius. Narcissa is homophobic, but I believe eventually her love for her son will be stronger than her prejudices. I offered to help her if she needs someone to talk to.”  
“But how do you feel about it all? You enact Slytherin self-control to the extreme, but you don’t need to hide your feelings from me. Remember? I want to be there for you.”  
“Fucking Pureblood education.” Astoria picked a stone from the ground and threw it into the lake. “Lucius is lucky I don’t see him today! And my father! I could beat them up regardless of the fact that they are sick and weak. Draco and I were weak, too, when we were kids and they forced their sick worldviews on us. My mother always tried to give me some secret freedoms, but she died when I was in first year. After that, there was just that fucking pureblood bullshit my father demanded that I live as soon as I got to the common room, and even worse when I got home. The only good time was when I was alone with Giovanna, and during the lessons. We both hated all that bullshit. I would have gone mad without her. And then the war. My father was not actively involved but sided with the Death Eaters. After the war, in our last year, it got somewhat better. But after Christmas, Giovanna was gone, and I was betrothed to Draco. He let me be myself, but…” She shrugged, looking into Ginny’s eyes: “But you went through worse things. And Harry and Draco, too.”  
“Astoria, whatever Draco, Harry, or I went through, it doesn’t make your suffering less valid.”  
A surge of affection for Astoria swept through Ginny’s mind. ‘Only one day after being confronted with her husband’s love for Harry, she defended him talking to his mother. And she is talking kindly to his mother although that woman is talking utter bullshit. Astoria has such a big heart. If I had been in her shoes, I would have felt rather like applying an Unforgivable. In my school days, I would have imagined such an attitude in a Hufflepuff, but never ever in a Slytherin.’  
Not even noticing what she was doing, she touched Astoria’s cheek to brush a strand of hair behind her friend’s ear.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
The soft touch of Ginny’s hand sent a ripple of warmth from Astoria’s face throughout her whole body. “Ginny.” She said, not knowing how to continue.  
“I’ll be with you. Don’t be afraid. Your family will survive it; it is just changing.”  
The words that were meant to comfort her brought her worry about the future back. Draco. Narcissa. Astoria sighed and leaned on Ginny’s shoulder. Her eyes began stinging with unshed tears about the unresolved situation between Draco and Narcissa.  
“You know, Narcissa’s political views are really awful, but when she cares about you and you are out of the public, she will give you reasons to care about her as well. Not like Lucius, who really is the git you think he is. Throughout the war, she obeyed Voldemort, because she wanted to protect Draco. But she never became a Death Eater. And you know, I would not have survived Scorpius’ first year if she had not saved my life three times.”  
“No need to defend yourself for liking her. I read what Sirius wrote in his diary about her, and I know that she saved Harry’s life. She also always fought like a lioness for her family. It’s like that with some old people. You can’t accept what they stand for, but you will still love them if they are in your family.”  
“What did Sirius write about her?”  
“He called her the most redeemable living person of the house of Black that chose to remain in the family tree. That was after Regulus had died. He mentioned missing her a few times, along with missing Regulus.”  
Astoria struggled to hold back the tears but lost the struggle.  
“It’s alright. If you feel like crying, it’s normal. I’m with you. Everything will get better eventually.”  
Ginny put her arm around her, stroking her gently, then hugged her tighter, rocking her back and forth.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Again, Astoria had asked to sleep in one bed with Ginny, claiming she was afraid of nightmares. Ginny had given in, despite feeling as if she were taking advantage of Astoria.  
During the night, she woke up three times. Once, Astoria’s hand was resting on her left breast; once, she was sleep talking in her ear: “Scorpius, you drew Ginny?” The third time, Ginny wanted to turn around, but Astoria’s arm and leg were wrapped around her. ‘As if she was sure I were hers. If only she were mine, too.’ With that thought, she fell asleep again.


	4. Fourth day

Fourth day 

A scratching sound from the window woke Draco and Harry up. A dark eagle owl sat on the windowsill outside and scratched the window with its beak impatiently. Harry, who was the one to get up more easily, wrapped his naked body in his bathrobe and opened the window. The owl flew to the pillow beside Draco’s head.   
“Mercury, do you have news from my mother? Good owl! Wait here, we will get you something delicious,” the blond man cooed. Harry picked a few owl pellets from a drawer and held them out for the owl, as Draco took the message from Mercury’s leg. 

Draco,   
I expect you at the Manor by ten o’clock. No excuses.   
Mother 

Draco cast a Tempus. It was only six thirty. Normally his mother would never get up before eight o’clock. Something serious was going on.   
“Fuck, the way she wrote this letter is so unlike her. That was rather how Father used to write letters. But Father will not write anymore. She must be very upset to forget her manners and write like this.”   
Draco wanted to write back, but the owl was just taking off from the windowsill to fly back to the Manor.   
He furrowed his brows and turned to Harry. “Can we get up? This letter makes me restless.”   
“It’s okay, I’m here for you. Whatever it is.” Harry got up again and hugged Draco. “You shouldn’t face your mother with an empty stomach. Let’s have a good breakfast, and maybe talk to Astoria. She wanted to take a walk in the Manor Park yesterday; maybe she knows something.” 

As if on cue, the men heard steps upstairs. They got ready and went to the kitchen. Harry made croissants, and Draco set the table. By now, he knew where to find dishes and cutlery in the Potters’ kitchen. Soon, Astoria showed up in the kitchen door.   
“Good morning, Draco, Harry. Draco, your mother…”   
“She strictly summoned me to the Manor by ten. Had it not been for the handwriting and signature, I would have thought Father was the one to write that letter.”   
“Your father is undergoing liver treatment today. He has been in induced coma since yesterday. And your mother… she saw you and Harry quote ‘doing unspeakable things with pants down’ in the park. She even tried to persuade me to slip Amortentia in your food. I told her that it’s utter nonsense.” 

“We messed up.” Draco’s voice sounded shaky.  
“You did. I spoke on your behalf yesterday, and I will do so again, if necessary. I firmly believe, your mother is going to forgive you after some time. She promised not to tell Lucius, and she said, that she has only you and me. So, if you don’t make a fool of yourself, it is a passing problem.”   
“But I will make a fool of myself. I got caught twice in one week. I am bloody frightened.”   
“Hey, you are not alone in this. We have enough time for a plan. I’ll call Ginny, then we’ll plan together. Maybe I’ll come with you.” Astoria took control. 

“We could wait here with our two-way mirror. Any indication we’re needed, and we’ll Floo over,” Harry added.   
“We are your family, too,” came from the door.   
“Ginny?” Draco was gobsmacked. “You can’t mean it?”   
“Weasleys may joke about a lot of things, but we do not joke about making somebody part of our family. Sorry, but as long as Harry loves you, you have no choice. You are one of us. He is an adoptive Weasley, and aren’t you his significant other?”   
Draco wracked his brain for the right words but was at a loss. Finally, he resorted to a pureblood gesture and kissed Ginny’s hand. He knew, that it would probably not be the right time for Harry to be at the Manor, but Draco found the idea of Harry waiting to rescue him if necessary rather charming.   
“You’re welcome but reserve your kisses for Harry. And I have yet to break the news to my parents and brothers. But, mind you, being the only girl has its advantages. Nobody will annoy me. Even Ron is not hot-tempered enough for that. So, let’s discuss the strategy before time is up.” 

They discussed the best approach over breakfast, then Draco and Astoria put on their very best clothes. Ginny picked flowers and Harry cast a few ironing spells over his dress robes, just in case it made sense to show up.   
Then the time came to Floo to Malfoy Manor. Harry and Draco exchanged a quick kiss. Ginny patted Draco on the shoulder, hugged Astoria, and said in a husky voice, “Flowers and mirror ready? Off you go. Good luck.”   
As Draco Flooed out, he saw the Potters sitting on the small sofa by the fireplace. Harry’s hand trembled as he held the mirror. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

As Narcissa saw them approaching, she just nodded to greet them and beckoned to Draco.   
“Draco, you should have come alone. You wrong Astoria, and then you still oblige her to come here with you?”   
“With all due respect, I persuaded him to let me come along, so neither of you say or do anything you will later regret. I will stay on the sofa and be quiet as you talk it over. After all, it is my business, too.”   
Narcissa and Draco sat at the table, staring at each other. 

“So, are you aware of the reason I summoned you here?” Narcissa broke the silence in an icy voice.   
“I think so.”   
“Why did you let Potter do those unspeakable things to you?”   
“Well, I feel guilty about the location, if you saw us, but what we did is called making love, and that is what adults do, if they love each other as Harry and I do. I apologize for doing it where you could see us, but I will never apologize for doing it with Harry. I should have married him. Can you imagine how long he has been the one and only love for me?”   
“I know. I had to Imperius you at the beginning of sixth year. I thought you would grow out of that — that — crush.” She pronounced the word ‘crush’ as if it were a swear  
word, “You were stronger than the Imperius, as it subsided only two hours after the ride on the Hogwarts train.” Narcissa wrung her hands.   
“You think it began between fifth and sixth year? I pined for him since that first day I saw him, at Madam Malkins’, where we got our first school robes. You can’t tell me, so many years are not valid. I always hated to insult him when I wanted to woo him. But Father would have killed me. I picked fights with Harry to look into his eyes and to feel his breath in my face. I am clueless on how to ever forgive Father.” He got up and paced the floor.   
“Draco…” 

He continued pacing and speaking, louder and louder, “You didn’t become a Death Eater. You tried to make them wait before forcing me to become one, hoping I would never have to be marked. You risked your life to protect me. That’s why I have forgiven you. But I will not have any of Father’s worldviews. If you want to burn me out of the family tree today, tomorrow I will have another surname, and I will forgive you and remember you with love. Maybe I’ll become a Weasley, there are so many walking around with that name, so why not one more. And they are not homophobic. Mark my words. There. Is. No. Choice. Gays. Are. Born. Gay. I. Was. Born. Gay!”   
Shouting the last few words, Draco turned, rushed to the door and slammed it behind himself. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Outside, there was a sound of Disapparating, then a silence that seemed to scream. ‘What was the plan if Draco just loses his temper?’ Astoria looked at Narcissa, wondering whether to go, too, or to have a talk with her.   
Suddenly, Narcissa began sobbing. “Draco!” 

“Listen, Narcissa. I told you yesterday, the Pureblood rules are wrong. They are the cause of the problem. You are afraid of losing him. Your only child. You lost your favorite cousin and your favorite sister because of rules that don’t do what rules are supposed to do: help people to live in peace with each other.” 

Narcissa sobbed louder. Finally, she asked between sobs, “Does he really prefer to be a Weasley over being a Malfoy?”   
“No. He wants to be a Malfoy, and he wants to be your son. But if you force him to choose he would rather be a Weasley and himself, than to be a Malfoy and give up what makes life worth living for him. Don’t force him to choose.”   
“He walked out on me.” Narcissa’s voice sounded hopeless and frightened.   
“It’s not too late. But now you must act. Let him know you love him without condition. Tell him you are still proud he is your son. Make up your mind.”   
“But purebloods don’t…”   
“Some purebloods do. There are documents that give evidence even about Salazar himself.”   
“Salazar was married to Gwendolyn Llewellyn.”   
“Who died in childbirth after six years of marriage. From later years there are letters he writes to his beloved man. They don’t know who that was, but it is proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that the writer of the letters was Salazar Slytherin. His magical signature lasted on them through the ages. Mind you, I came across them when I studied History of Magic. They leave no doubt about the nature of the relationship as well as the physical, well, equipment of the recipient.” 

“Salazar was – inverted?” Narcissa gasped.   
“I would prefer if you used a less stigmatizing term, but, yes he was either gay or bisexual. But he was the Salazar who founded Hogwarts with Godric Gryffindor, Rowena Ravenclaw and Helga Hufflepuff. If even Salazar Slytherin could love a man, why would it not be okay for Draco? Anyway, he chose the greatest hero of our generation, doesn’t that prove he has the exquisite taste for the best that is expected from a Malfoy, and a descendant of the Noble and Moste Ancient House of Black?” Astoria winked. 

Narcissa sat motionlessly, staring at the white wall.   
“You look like you have to process all this information. Do you need me around, or would you like to be alone?” Astoria inquired.   
“A-alone. Please.” Narcissa breathed.   
Astoria quickly called Topsy and instructed her to keep an eye on Narcissa and to call her if Narcissa were to behave odd. Then she flooed back to Potter House. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Ginny had been waiting for Astoria on the sofa. She had seen Draco apparate into the sitting room, which signified, that the house allowed him through the wards as a family member. He and Harry had left the room immediately to be alone with each other.   
When the fire turned emerald and Astoria stepped out of the chimney, she sighed in relief.   
Astoria threw herself on the sofa beside her. She looked pale and wrung her hands. As though drawn by a magnet, Ginny’s hands moved towards Astoria’s to hold them. Astoria took it as a cue to lean on Ginny’s shoulder, and Ginny let go with her right hand to put the arm around her. 

“I reckon it didn’t go well,” Ginny said, breaking the silence.   
“Not exactly, but it could have been worse. Draco lost his nerve and Disapparated, and I had to do the explaining. I may be better at this than him, but why is it always my job to be diplomatic?”   
Ginny felt the tension in Astoria’s shoulders, as the blonde woman continued. “She knew all along that Harry meant more to Draco and wanted him to suppress it. I really hate all this Pureblood nonsense. In the end, I told her about Salazar.”   
“Salazar?”   
“After the death of Gwendolyn Slytherin, nee Llewellyn, Salazar Slytherin lived in a relationship with a man. While the identity of Salazar’s partner is not known, theories range from a sorcerer peasant, to Rowena’s cousin William Ravenclaw, to Godric Gryffindor himself.”   
“How did she react?”   
“She wanted to think about it alone. I told a house elf to keep an eye on her and to inform me, if there is a problem.” 

“What would do you good now?”   
“Is it a habit of yours to ask this?”   
“It’s what my mind healer taught me to ask myself whenever times get rough. And it helps.”   
“Sport or a Muggle activity.”   
“Ever been to a public swimming pool?”   
“No, never.”   
“Ready for it? The Godric’s Hollow Swimming Pool is not so far away.”   
“We had our own swimming pond. My father always said Purebloods should not be seen in swimsuits. But I always longed to go swimming at a public pool.” 

She transfigured a t-shirt into a swimsuit, and they Apparated to the pool. For an hour, Astoria forgot about her worries, as they chased each other like children in an almost empty indoor pool. When Astoria got tired, they sat in the whirlpool, exchanging memories from Hogwarts. But after one hour they had to go back. Neville and Blaise were to come over to collect a few plants that preferred the soil of Godric’s Hollow over Hogwarts’ rocky ground. Neville had planted them, and Ginny and Harry watered them. 

When Ginny and Astoria arrived at Potter House, they found Harry and Draco had prepared a lunch of baked potatoes and a green salad. Draco was very proud of himself for preparing a sauce for the potatoes without Harry’s help – and to have not ruined it.  
“Purebloods,” Harry mouthed in Ginny’s direction, and Ginny grinned, despite being technically also a pureblood. 

They hadn’t even finished their meal when an emerald flare appeared in the chimney. Neville stepped out, closely followed by a blond boy resembling Draco, and finally, Blaise Zabini.   
“Mommy, Daddy!” the boy shouted, climbing on Astoria’s lap. Then he came to an awestruck realization: “Oh, it’s THE Potters! You know Ginny and Harry Potter?”   
“Hello, Scorpius. Yes, we know them from Hogwarts.”  
His eyes looked starry. “Mr. Potter, you really killed a basilisk?”   
Harry chuckled. “Yes, but you can call me Harry. And I’m very pleased to meet you. Your Dad told me so much about you.” 

He turned to Ginny, smiled at her, extended his hand towards her, and said with the same kind of posh lilt as his father, “Hello, Mrs. Potter, nice to meet you. You do the best Quidditch comments on the wireless.”   
“Hello, Scorpius. You can call me Ginny. Our younger son is about as old as you. He spends the holidays with his grandma and grandpa, but I’m sure he wouldn’t mind if you borrow a toy or two from his room while you are here. I’m sure once you meet him, you both will be friends.” She led the boy to Albus’ room to pick something to play with. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

At first, he had thought his eyes were playing tricks on him, or that there would be a huge “I’m sorry, that was not intended.,” scene with shocked expressions, but far from that. Malfoy’s left hand rested on Harry’s thigh close to the crotch — a place you would never touch if the person were just a friend — and Harry had a contented smile on his face that Neville had never seen before. It seemed to signify that Harry and Draco were more than just friends. Now, Malfoy had come a long way from the git he was in their school years — he had apologized to Neville, and Neville had accepted — but to call this development “unexpected” was a big understatement. “What the hell are you both doing?” Neville mouthed the moment he expected Astoria not to see him doing so.   
“What do you mean?” Draco said, definitely too loud, and lifted one eyebrow.   
“Your hand!” Neville mouthed again.   
With a mock solemn look Draco examined his right hand. “What about it?”   
“Where you have your other hand.” Neville whispered, then his eyes widened, when he saw Astoria looking at him.

“Aaah, you mean this,” Draco exclaimed, moving his hand yet closer to Harry’s crotch. “Where is the problem?”   
“Do I have to spell it out for you? You are in Potter House. Astoria sits at the table with you, and you almost get intimate with Harry!”   
“Draco, stop tormenting this innocent pureblood.” Astoria smirked.   
“You-you knew it and stayed calm? Why?”   
“Because we didn’t get married for love. Because we have an heir, and I allow Draco to be happy now.”   
“Because Astoria will get her happiness soon, too,” Harry added. 

“Wish that were true, but I know I’m happier with Draco being my best friend than with having him as a husband. I always felt he couldn’t give me more than friendship. I have felt inadequate for years, because I saw our marriage lacking so much. After the first shock of finding out, it was a relief to know why. Now I know I am precious to him; just as a sister, not as a wife. Because he doesn't need a wife, he needs a husband. And perhaps I need a brother more than I need a husband.” A strange smile appeared on her face.   
“Neville, Blaise, please, don’t tell others about Draco and me. I don’t want to see it in the Daily Prophet.” Harry looked solemn. 

“Your secrets are your property, I won’t mess with them. But I’m happy for you. I always wondered if you and Ginny were faking it; you never really did seem to be in love with each other. I was always sure she fancies women, doesn’t she? But I didn’t think you … although, if I remember how much you talked about Malfoy …” Neville looked from one to the other while he spoke.   
“You can rest assured. I have always kept Draco’s secrets. Although … I should ask him to allow me to tell you some dorm secrets.” Blaise chuckled.   
“Are you sure he hasn’t told me about his wanking fantasies himself already?”   
“I don’t know how long you guys have been dating. It might as well be new.”   
“Guys, exchange your dorm stories without me, will you? I want to go to Scorpius and Ginny,” Astoria stated, getting up.   
“They are on the second floor on the left.” Harry told her. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

“Do you really have so many brothers? Daddy told me there were ten Weasleys in Hogwarts and all of them were in Gryffindor.” Astoria heard Scorpius ask.   
“We were only seven siblings. And only five in Hogwarts at the same time with your Dad. The oldest two had already finished school. But the twins were temperamental enough for people to assume there were actually four of them.” How beautiful Ginny’s voice sounded, even when sadness rang out of it.   
“Wow, cool. Always someone to play with. And not just House Elves. They really don’t know how to play.”   
Astoria smiled. Scorpius had always asked her why he doesn’t have a brother or sister. But with her health, it was too risky to have another child, not to mention the fact that Draco… ‘wait, how did Ginny and Harry have three children if they never had sexual intercourse? They can’t be adopted, in the pictures they look so much like Ginny and Harry. I’ll ask Ginny later.’ 

She stood at the threshold looking inside the room. It was painted in forest green and sky blue. Opposite her, on the south wall, Hippogriffs and Phoenixes were flying; on the north wall, next to Astoria's shoulder, unicorns pranced on the ground. On the east wall, Patronuses lit up the room with a soft glow. A stag and a horse never left, while others joined them and went away again. Hermione Granger-Weasley's otter, Ron Granger-Weasley's terrier, four weasels, a Hungarian Horntail, a crocodile, a hyena, a lion, a fox, a fennec, a lynx, a rabbit, joined them. A tabby cat, that clearly wasn’t a Patronus, sat elegantly in one corner next to a huge flower.

“Why isn’t the cat a Patronus?” Astoria asked.  
“Don’t you recognize her? It’s McGonagall in her Animagus form. That’s how Animagi appear on our enchanted walls.”  
The west wall was dominated by four Animagi: a wolf, a dog, a stag, and a doe. They were accompanied by three Patronuses.   
As Astoria passed through the door, the magic of the room interacted with her own magic, and her Patronus, an Iceland horse, appeared without her conjuring it, brushing across the east wall and going back into her wand. The reflection of it appeared on the wall, greeting the other horse Patronus.

“The house really likes you. It added you to the people protecting our children. Your Patronus will appear on Jamie's and Lily’s walls, too.”  
“Why are there some Animagi on the west wall, while McGonagall is the only one that appears on the east wall?”   
“The west wall is reserved for those who have died. These deer are Harry’s parents, the wolf is Remus Lupin and the dog…”  
“Sirius Black.”  
“Sirius Black. We were very surprised to see the Animagus doe; we knew Lily had done the Animagus meditation before becoming pregnant, but we never heard if she actually transformed. She must have, after Harry’s birth. She had to have transformed at least once for her Animagus form to appear on the mural. The Patronuses are my brother Fred, Tonks and Mad Eye Moody.”  
“What about those who can’t conjure a Patronus?” Astoria asked.   
“You see this huge flower? That’s Hagrid.” 

“Will I appear in this picture, too? I want your kids to be my friends! Please!” Scorpius bounced with excitement.   
Ginny smiled at him. “Scorpius, I think you have to wait a few years. It depends on the strength of the connection and on the age of the person. Close family members can appear on the wall after they have started at Hogwarts. If you are more distant, it is at 17 years.”   
“But what about Daddy? He could be there.”   
“If the magic of the wall interacts with his magic. Scorpius, choose a few toys and then let’s go back downstairs. Neville and your Uncle Blaise are waiting for us.” "Ginny went directly to the drawing room. Scorpius had needed the bathroom, so Astoria had shown him where it was.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Where's Ginny?" Astoria asked as she entered the drawing room with Scorpius.   
"She's helping Neville and Blaise in the garden," Harry replied.   
“Daddy, Daddy, Albus has Patronuses on his wall. Can we put your Patronus there, too?” Scorpius shouted, tugging at his father’s hand. “And Mommy’s Patronus appeared, as she walked into the room. She has a horse, like Ginny. Their Patronuses cuddled. They are friends.”   
“Scorpius, I have never learned to conjure a Patronus,” Draco admitted, feeling downcast.   
“Grandma says if I can’t do something, I have to learn it. I’m sure Harry can teach you.”   
Harry smiled at Scorpius: “I’ll do my best. Including the happy thought.” He winked at Draco, and Draco felt his face heat up. It was a happy thought that Harry loved him. And Astoria seemed to forgive him, but she was alone now, without a significant other. ‘If only she was as happy as me!’ he thought. 

Ginny, Neville and Blaise returned with a bag full of ginseng roots. While Ginny and Neville sat down at the table. Ginny Accioed three glasses and a bottle of butterbeer.  
Blaise turned to Astoria: “I need your advice on the historical background of Potions legislation.”   
“I’d gladly advise you, but my subject is Social History of the Wizarding World, but if you tell me the problem, I can help you to find a colleague who is involved in the topic.”   
“Do you mind if we cast a Muffliato. the matter is classified because of underage magic.”   
“You guys could sit on the sofa to talk about it,” Harry suggested.   
They sat on the sofa and Blaise cast the Muffliato. 

“So, Astoria, are you really alright?”   
“What does that have to do with Potions legislation?”   
“I’m sorry, I wanted to talk to you about the situation, without others knowing about it or influencing you. The Potions matter was an excuse.”   
“Don’t worry about me, Blaise. Our marriage has always been kind of awkward. Draco was kind and caring, but something was missing. For all these years I had blamed myself for the imperfection I could perceive but not name, until I saw Draco kissing Harry with all the passion that never existed in our marriage. It felt as if I was suddenly on shaky ground, even as if the ground I was used to having under my feet was breaking away. But then I came here and spoke with Ginny. And I … I feel …” she took a few deep breaths: “I think I fancy her. I have always loved Draco, but more like a brother, as I have found out now. So, I’m fine with him loving Harry.” She gave him a wide smile.   
“I’m glad to hear that. Draco has always fancied Potter, but I had thought he was flying on both sides of the Quidditch field. But — may I be a little bit curious — why didn’t you know about yourself earlier?” 

“You know that my mother died when I was in first year. And Father’s idea of sex education was telling us to ‘close our eyes and think of England’. I theoretically knew that same-sex relationships existed, but even the theoretical concept of a woman feeling desire to be touched or to touch someone at all was something Father kept away from us. It always felt odd when Draco touched me in a relationship kind of way, while when Ginny hugged me to comfort me, it felt so right. I wish I could kiss her.”   
“Did you know that you were Giovanna’s first crush? Before she met Gabrielle, she would rant about the most beautiful girl of Hogwarts being straight. And she meant you.”   
“She should have hugged me, I didn’t know, but I was about as straight as a question mark. She could have taught me the truth about myself.” 

Blaise laughed. “I’m glad you are okay. No need to worry about Scorpius. And if I’m not mistaken, Ginny fancies you, too. The way she looks at you is quite telling.”   
He removed the Muffliato and they rejoined the group, who were presently discussing who might be in the national team for the next Quidditch World Championship. Ginny’s voice reflected a calm expertise that caused a hundred butterflies to dance in Astoria’s stomach. 

Suddenly, there was a scratching sound at the window. Astoria got up and let two identical-looking tawny owls in. One flew to Neville, and the other to Blaise. The two men read their messages, while Harry fed the owls.   
"Potions Accident in St. Mungo’s. Someone confused ingredient herbs. But we have yet to identify the wrong herb. We must Apparate there at once,” Neville informed the Potters and Malfoys.  
Blaise added: “I will pick Scorpius up when I have finished, or, if it is late, tomorrow. After all, I still promised him I’d go to the Muggle Zoo with him.”   
They left the house and Disapparated. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

On their way from the Apparition Point in St. Mungo’s to the elevator, Blaise and Neville discussed the new development in Potter House.   
“But I thought Draco always hated Harry?” Neville expressed his astonishment.   
“Baby, that’s what he wanted everyone to believe, but, you know we shared a room at Hogwarts. Draco was not the best at silencing charms when he was in Fifth year. Every time he wanked, it ended with him shouting ‘Potter!’ Well, he grew better at silencing charms, but he confided in me, and he always pined for Harry.” Blaise told his boyfriend.   
They didn’t notice the man who walked behind them listening, and then strode off with a determined look. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Blaise didn’t come back before Scorpius’ bedtime, so Ginny prepared Albus’ bed for him. He was excited about sleeping in this room. Leaving the room, Astoria told him she and Ginny would sleep in Ginny’s room.   
When she heard this, Ginny dropped the DVD they wanted to watch. She was glad it rolled into the darkest corner of the sitting room, so she could hide her face until she managed to look composed again. ‘Bloody hell! Why does she not keep her distance like other Purebloods? All the time I see her big breasts, her wonderful soft body. All the time she is less than an arm’s length away. All the time I smell her Amortentia scent, but if I kiss her, it will all be fucked up! She’ll drive me crazy!’ Ginny thought. She claimed to be tired and went to bed, while Astoria watched Star Wars with Harry and Draco. Ginny wanted to be fast asleep before Astoria would join her.


	5. Fifth Day

Fifth day   
Again, Astoria awoke cuddling up to Ginny. Her face was at the crook of Ginny’s neck, and with every breath, she inhaled Ginny’s scent of bergamot, rosewood, and that soft, uncomparable scent emanating from her skin. ‘Wish I could wake up like this every morning for the rest of my life. It feels so perfect, to lie beside her. If only I never had to go back to sleeping alone.’ She tried not to move, looking at Ginny’s freckles. 

When outside the tap, tap of Scorpius’ feet was audible, she felt Ginny stir. “Good morning,” she whispered.   
“Good morning, Astoria.” Ginny shifted to look into Astoria’s eyes without letting go of her.   
“I think we might get a visitor.”   
Just then, they heard a knock at the door. “Mom, are you here?” Scorpius exclaimed.   
“Come in, Scorpius.”   
“Good morning. Mom, you are cuddling with Ginny, I knew it when your Patronuses cuddled, that you must cuddle, too.”   
A wave of relief washed through Astoria’s mind. She had been afraid of Scorpius’ reaction. 

He crawled into the bed, kissed Astoria good morning, and cuddled up between them, as if he had known Ginny forever (and not just her voice over the Wireless.) It amazed Astoria, how her usually shy son treated Ginny and Harry as if they had always belonged to his family. And it made it easier for her to accept her feelings for Ginny.   
“Mommy, I must wake Daddy, too. Where does he sleep?”   
“Don’t wake him, he talked to Harry till late at night. They will get up when they are ready.”   
Behind Scorpius’ back, Ginny gave her a thumb up. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Draco and Harry got up after 10 o’clock. They had a very late night talking about Draco’s mother, the Malfoy family’s destructive and manipulative values and about family trees, and then followed that with some frantic lovemaking to get their minds on better things. They ended up falling asleep around three thirty. When Draco looked at his reflection, he exclaimed. “Shite, I look like during the war!”   
“Even in your worst state, you are the most gorgeous, sexiest man I have ever seen or ever will see. And the opinion of others about your looks is not valid anymore.”   
Draco just smiled at him and started his morning routine of shaving, applying skin refining salve, and other beauty products for wizards. Harry stood beside him, just washing his face and brushing his hair, then tying it into a man bun. He watched Draco go through the rest of his morning rituals. 

“Whatever happens, we no longer need awkward excuses to be together all night.” Harry said.  
“Yes, looks like probably we will move in with you. At least I will, thanks to Mother’s homophobia.”   
“Let’s just wait and see. Think about Neville’s Grandmother. She freaked out when he brought his first boyfriend home, and I saw her on TV News last Pride parade carrying a sign that said, ‘Proud of my gay grandson.’”  
“But Augusta has always been more progressive. She, after all, was a member of the Order.”   
“She was a member of the Order, but she was not the most supportive guardian of Neville for years. She was always comparing him with his father, and he only started narrowly passing the comparison after the war. But she kept nagging about him not getting married to a nice young witch.” 

“Talking about Neville: Is it only me getting the impression that he fancies Blaise?”   
“They sure seem very close to each other now.”   
“Well, if I think about it, for something like three months now Blaise has not talked about any new sexual conquests of any gender to me, which is even more surprising as he didn’t talk to anyone else about them and he always needed to talk.”   
“You mean they are dating?”   
Draco finished his bathroom rituals and ambled to the door: “Not yet, I think. I’ve always been the first to know. But I’m positive it’s just a matter of time.” 

“Daadddyyyyyyy! Haaaarrrryyyy!” Scorpius came running from the kitchen at such speed that it almost looked as if he was flying. “Good morning.” Draco picked him up into a hug, spinning around with the giggling boy.   
“Mommy and Ginny cuddled this morning. Did you cuddle, too? Daddy, you look sad. You need more cuddling. When I’m sad, Mommy or you cuddle with me and then I feel better. Harry hugged you yesterday. He will cuddle with you if you ask him to.”   
“What a wise boy!” Harry chuckled, relieved at how normal it seemed for Draco’s son to see his father coming out of the bathroom with another man.   
“Harry, I must tell you a secret.”   
Harry got on his knees to bring his ears within Scorpius’ reach. “I have a poster of you in my room. I persuaded Uncle Blaise to buy it for me. Daddy often looks at it as if you were made of chocolate. Please, promise me you’ll cuddle with him, so he will be happy. Grandma isn’t here, and I won’t tell her.”   
“I promise.”   
Scorpius quickly threw his arms around Harry. “And teach him a Patronus.” He let go, just to grab both mens’ hands and pull them into the kitchen. “Ginny has taught me to make coffee. She put your coffees in a Stasis.”   
The table was set with fresh apple strudel, and Ginny had written on the blackboard that they kept on the fridge for passing along notes. “Harry, Draco, don’t come to the drawing room without eating first. You must take good care of yourselves.”   
Harry grinned: “Either they want to have some time alone or they are worried you won’t have appetite.” 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

By this time, Astoria and Ginny were sitting in the drawing room and reading. Ginny had picked a book on protective charms to make sure nobody could break into the house and kidnap Scorpius, and Astoria read about wizarding family laws. She wanted to find out options for a good transition for their family, and to be sure the consequences wouldn’t be too drastic, just in case the men were to be careless again. They spent all morning reading, interrupting only to inform each other about important details. Ginny knew that the wards of Potter House were very high, once she applied the Selective Floo Block, a charm that blocked the Floo for travel and firecalls, except for a number of trusted Floo addresses. Ginny had activated the Selective Floo Block before breakfast, thinking that this was the first time they benefited from the Daily Prophet’s stalking reporters. 

An hour after a small lunch with Draco and Harry, when Astoria had finished all relevant places in the book, she turned to Ginny. “In the Manor there is more on magical family law. Narcissa is unlikely to be there now. I think we should continue our research there. Would you come with me?”   
Ginny thought a little, then smiled hesitantly. “I’m glad you ask me to come along, it seems like a risky mission to me. Should we use Harry’s Invisibility Cloak?”   
“So, the rumor is true? He has one?”  
Ginny nodded.  
“Well, we will not need it. I live there, and I have the right to have a guest, especially if she is in the same situation as me. We just have to dodge Narcissa telling us to trick our husbands into taking love potions. We will just take precautions in case my father finds out later on. You have seen how careless Draco and Harry are, once they get horny.”   
Ginny laughed. “Oh, yes, thank Merlin they were oblivious of their feelings during the war. Voldemort would have had it easy if they had been as focused on sex as they seem to be now. Should we start now?”   
“Yes, the sooner we start, the sooner we can go back ho- here.”   
Ginny was not sure if she had just imagined it. Had Astoria really almost called Potter House “home?” What did it mean? Was the manor just so uncomfortable, or did Astoria feel at home where Ginny was? She willed herself to dismiss the thought that it might have to do with her personally, at least as long as she had no proof of it. They had a mission to accomplish and a child to protect.   
“How are we going? Will you sidealong me again?”   
Astoria nodded. She moved closer to Ginny and pulled her into one of her full-contact hugs. It made Ginny want to Apparate twenty times around the world just so it would last longer, but within a twinkling of an eye they were at the Manor. 

Ginny heard a male voice mumble something in a room on the right. Astoria gestured for her to be quiet and opened the door. A man with shoulder-length, greying light-brown hair and a very far-receded hairline held his flaming wand to a Genealogical tapestry, mumbling incantations. Ginny dodged as he began to turn, hoping for Astoria to dodge, too. Instead, she screamed. “Father! What on earth do you think you are doing? Stop that at once.”   
The thought that this man was Astoria’s father felt like a punch to Ginny’s stomach.   
Mr. Greengrass continued to turn slowly, but nonetheless aggressively, while Astoria approached him. Ginny got her wand ready to step in if necessary. 

“Lucius is awake again, didn’t you know? I visited him yesterday evening. He allowed me to do this. To burn the blood traitor out of the family tree. And you will come with me for now. You and Scorpius need a proper Pureblood environment.”   
“I will not. You have gone completely insane. My place is no longer in Greengrass Estate. I am married to Draco Malfoy.”   
“You will divorce this inverted blood traitor. He defiled the Malfoy family with his sexual misconduct. He is no longer a member of the House of Malfoy.”   
“You can’t tell me what to do anymore. Those days are over.”   
Greengrass made a sharp stabbing motion with his wand as he opened his mouth and yelled, "Imperi-"   
Astoria's hand struck like a snake and slapped the wand out of her father's hand.   
“I’m not your property!” she screamed.   
Reacting immediately, Ginny summoned his wand, just as he went to reach for it. He stormed towards her, but she cast a quick Petrificus Totalus. Obviously, Greengrass was not very skilled at dueling. 

Astoria fire-called the DMLE. When they heard that Ginny was part of overpowering someone who tried to cast an Unforgivable, they sent Aurors Seamus Finnegan and Morag McDougal, who arrested Claudius Greengrass. Ginny and Astoria were told to take a Portkey to the Ministry to tell the Aurors what happened. They put their memories of the incident into the DMLE Pensieve, and soon Harry and Draco joined them in the room where they were told to wait, bringing pumpkin juice and sandwiches. 

They informed Harry and Draco about how they caught Astoria’s father burning Draco out of the Malfoy Family Tree, how he wanted to Imperio Astoria, and how Astoria and Ginny overpowered him in a joined effort.   
“Thank goodness you both are well,” Draco exclaimed. He had entered the room composed, but after hearing what had happened, he had gotten so pale that Ginny would never have thought a living human being could assume that color without using talcum powder or makeup. Harry was holding him on one side, Astoria on the other, and it looked as if he was close to collapsing. For quite a while he was silent, then he murmured. “At least Scorpius is with Blaise. They can’t take him. “   
“Yes, and Neville and Ron are there to fight anyone who would try to get him. You saw me sending the Patronus messages to them to ask to take them to the Burrow, where they are safe. We can rely on their loyalty and not babbling to the Daily Prophet.” Harry reassured him.   
“Bloody hell, I never thought I would trust the Weasleys more than my own parents.” 

Hermione, Luna, and, to Ginny’s surprise, Millicent Bulstrode, wearing a mind healer uniform. Millicent took care of Draco, with some help from Harry, to whom clung like a little kid. Hermione and Luna asked Ginny and Astoria to sit down at a table on the other side of the room while Millicent treated Draco’s shock.   
“I don’t understand this,” Astoria said. “Draco looks like he is about to faint, but he talks about us being well and about Scorpius being safe, nothing about himself.”   
“He is in war mode. He will protect his family, which has diminished to you and Scorpius, with his life. He is almost in the same condition Harry was in when he went into the forest to face Voldemort,” Hermione explained, voice controlled, but the rage nonetheless showing in her eyes. “I hoped to never see anyone in war mode again in my life.”   
Luna took and squeezed Hermione’s hand. The four women didn’t spread out around the table, but rather huddled together in one corner of it, the physical contact comforting to some extent. 

“Why exactly did Malfoy Senior have your father burn Draco out of the family tree?” Luna inquired.   
“They found out Draco is gay,” Astoria replied.   
“How are you coping with that?”   
“I learned that he cares about me very much, just not in that way. And I think I also don’t love him in that way, more as if he were my brother.” She looked at Ginny and had the vague feeling that Luna understood the meaning of that look.   
“Your father…” Hermione prompted.   
“I can’t tell you how long ago I gave up on my father. He kept telling me that I’m a lousy Pureblood, that Daphne is so much better; she even found a British Pureblood husband in Canada who is ready to become a Greengrass, so our lineage won’t die out. We have never seen Dylan, but she went to Canada, when someone threatened her life here, just after graduation. And he signs all the greeting cards. His handwriting is very similar to Daphne’s. Father believes that is a lucky sign. 

“No fire-calls? No two-way mirrors? That’s odd,” Hermione said, with a skeptical look on her face.   
“Father seems to be content with an owl a month. He thinks it is for her safety. I don’t know if I should owl her and inform her of what happened, or not.”   
“You could owl her from the DMLE, and have her answer delivered to Ron, Seamus or Morag. They can run all the scans and then give the letter to you if it is safe. We could even use Kingsley’s secure mail system. I mean Minister Shacklebolt; he has been our friend since the time when Sirius was hiding in Grimmauld Place.” Ginny explained, and saw Astoria’s face light up.   
Astoria seemed to think a little, then hugged Ginny and kissed her cheek. “Ginny, you are awesome. Yes. Can you contact the Minister?”   
Ginny was slow to react, her face felt heated up, and the place Astoria had kissed seemed to have taken up a pleasant magic.   
“I’ll contact Kingsley,” Hermione said, getting up with a knowing look on her face. “Ginny, you stay with Astoria. You know her better.”   
Ginny only managed to nod. ‘This doesn’t mean a thing except that Astoria is overwhelmed with gratitude to have friends in this situation. It’s not a kiss for me, but one for gratitude.’

Luna, who wasn’t wearing her mind healer uniform, asked Ginny to wait outside, but Astoria held on to Ginny’s arm and demanded. “No, I want Ginny to stay. I feel safe when she is around.”   
They spoke about the incident, about Astoria’s family and her feelings.   
“Looks like you don’t need a stabilizing potion, Astoria, as long as Ginny is by your side. Ginny, make sure she is not alone until Monday, ten o’clock. That is her next treatment session. Don’t even let her be alone in the night. Especially not in the night. Can you do that?” Luna didn’t sound half as dreamy as she normally does.   
“Room sharing, no problem. We have shared a room before.”   
“So, that is no problem. Ginny, Astoria, take a coin. If you touch it with your wand, and concentrate on the charm ‘Medica’, it will alarm me to come to you as fast as possible.”   
Hermione came back, announcing, “Kingsley will be here in a few minutes. And I just followed up with Ron. Scorpius is having fun playing with Al.”  
“Thank you so much.” 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Draco had answered all the examination questions. He felt as if the ground under his feet had been pulled away. Even though he had braced himself for being burnt out of the family tree, really experiencing it was a completely different matter. Who was he, now that he no longer belonged to the Malfoy family tree? What was his identity now?   
Harry seemed to sense his feelings. He rubbed circles on the small of Draco’s back and whispered to him, “You are still the same as before. It is their loss if they don’t want you. I love you. We are on your side: me, Astoria, Ginny, and with Ginny the Weasleys; Neville, Blaise, Millicent, Luna, the Committee, and I’m sure Pansy, too; Andromeda and Teddy. You will never be alone again. We don’t let our own fall.”   
“Am I your own? Do the Weasleys see it that way, too?” 

“They want me to be happy. And to be happy I need you. Remember Sirius. He was burnt out of the family tree, but he had his chosen family despite it. My parents and grandparents chose to be his family. Remus chose to be his family. The Weasleys and Kingsley chose to be his family when he had to hide away as a fugitive from Azkaban. And mind you, he was not always easy to get along with in those days. They loved him when he tried to drown his depression in firewhiskey. They loved him when he freaked out because of having to stay at Grimmauld Place all the time. And we don’t even have a war going on. You are free to go wherever you want, with the exception of Malfoy Manor and Greengrass Estate. But I understand that it hurts. Just lean on us. We are your home now.” 

Draco doubted that the other Weasleys, and especially Ronald, would see it so. Millicent, who had gone to an adjoining room, returned with two vials. Draco recognized them at once. The aquamarine one was Calming Draught, the purple one Dreamless Sleep Potion. Millicent gave the Calming Draught to Draco. “Drink it now, and remember not to eat any apples today, so the Draught can work properly. You can have the Dreamless Sleep Potion for emergencies, but I would be glad if you didn’t need it. Maybe Harry should keep it for you.”   
“I’d rather have Ginny keep it. Right after the War I had a rather problematic habit of using Dreamless Sleep Potion. I got over it without physical addiction, but I decided never to take any risk. She can lock it up out of my reach.” Harry said calmly.  
“I’m glad you are honest about it and don’t take risks.” Millicent gave him a wide smile. “And I am glad for our Draco that you love him.” She walked over to Ginny and gave her the Potion. 

They still had to be at the Ministry for two more hours. Kingsley Shacklebolt came and discussed with Ginny, Hermione, and Astoria how to inform Daphne. They wrote a Ministerial Express Letter, that was sent to the Embassy Owlery in Canada by Portkey via the mail witch/wizard. More memories were archived in Pensieves, forms were filled and signed. Robards cautioned them not to leave the wards of the Burrow or Potter House with Scorpius, unless Sidealong Apparating him to the other house for now.   
“Thank Merlin for your kids and the Weasley kids,” Draco sighed. “It could really get boring for him if it wasn’t for them.” 

Finally, they were allowed to Floo to the Burrow. Harry took Draco’s hand immediately as he climbed out of the chimney. It was Arthur who greeted Draco first, pulling him into a hug, that he normally would have considered uncouth. But in this situation, tears of grief mingled with tears of relief streamed down his face, because of how friendly Arthur Weasley was to him.   
“It’s alright,” Arthur muttered. “The strongest person needs a good cry once in a while. You are safe here.” Draco found himself surrounded by Weasleys who hugged him and gave him handkerchiefs, even though he had never been a friend to them.   
A wave of gratitude swept through his mind. He had mocked the Weasleys so many times; he had looked down on the whole family. And now that he had been burnt out of his family tree, the Weasleys comforted him as if he were a long-lost family member. 

For a long time, he couldn’t find words. Then he stammered, “I always mocked you all, and you are so kind. Please, forgive me.”   
It was Ron who answered him. “Don’t make a fuss. that was long ago, and even I have seen that you are no longer the git you were. Just make our Harry happy. I forgive all you did then, but if you make Harry unhappy I won’t forgive that. And now, would you like to play chess? I heard the rumor that you are quite good.” 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

After dinner, Astoria and Ginny sidealonged Lily, Albus and Scorpius to Potter House, so the kids would go to sleep. Astoria read a bedtime story in Lily’s room, then tucked the boys in, who insisted on sleeping in one enlarged bed, and left the room. Two Aurors were monitoring the house from the outside. 

“Can we lie down, too?” Astoria inquired. “I just feel weary and cold.”  
“Yes.” They got ready and lay down.   
“Do you want to talk about your father?” Ginny asked softly.   
“I’m too weary. I would like to just block it out of my mind for now.” 

“Is there anything else I can do for you?”   
“Well, erm, I – if it is okay to ask…”   
“Ask away. If I feel uncomfortable with it, I’ll say no.”   
“It’s silly. I feel kind of ashamed, but wouldyousingamugglesongforme?”   
“Don’t feel ashamed. Sometimes we just need a warm blanket and someone to sing for us. And I know just the right song for now. It’s an old song called ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water’ by a band called Simon and Garfunkel.”   
Ginny rubbed circles on Astoria’s arm and sang: 

“When you’re weary, feeling small   
When tears are in your eyes,   
I’ll dry them all, I’m on your side   
When times get rough   
And friends just can’t be found   
Like a bridge over troubled water   
I will lay me down.” 

Astoria fell asleep thinking of how beautiful Ginny’s voice sounded.


	6. Sixth day, morning

When Astoria woke up and cast a Tempus it was 3.24 am. Strangely enough, she felt at peace knowing that her father was in Azkaban. He had never physically abused her, but from her talk with Luna, she knew now for sure what had been just a vague thought before: that his child-raising methods had been emotionally abusive. Ginny was still holding her tight in roughly the same position in which they had fallen asleep. She tried to move to the edge of the bed without waking Ginny, but when she had shifted a little, Ginny opened her eyes and asked sleepily, “Is it already morning?”   
“No, I just want to go to the toilet.”   
“Okay, I’ll stay awake and wait for you. So, no brooding alone. You know what Luna said.” 

She went to the toilet, and as she returned Ginny was sitting on the bed.   
“Do you want to talk about it now? I’m ready any time.”   
“Ginny, sorry, but I don’t feel ready for that. I’m just glad he is locked away for good and can’t harm Scorpius. Please, drop the topic until I come up with it myself.” She moved her hand closer to Ginny’s and Ginny took it.   
“It’s okay, Astoria. But any time you want to talk, if I’m asleep, you wake me; if I’m cooking, we put it in a stasis; whatever I’m busy with, just tell me to interrupt it immediately. And what do you want us to do now? Can you sleep, or should we find something calming to do?” 

As they were talking, Astoria had moved closer and closer without Ginny really being aware of it. And now she almost sat on Ginny’s lap. “Can you hold me? And maybe you could talk a little about yourself. Since when do you know you fancy women? Like, I know why you and Harry are married without being a couple, but how did you people find out? I know you dated him in school but was it already fake then or what was it?”   
_‘She cuddles up to me and asks me about my love life. Does she know she is driving me crazy? If only I knew how to interpret it.’_  
“I think I found him interesting at first, because everyone said he was already a hero when he was still wearing diapers, and you know Harry was Ron’s best friend. And there was Hermione, and Hermione was beautiful and brilliant. I fancied her but didn’t know that fancying a girl was even an option, so I pretended that it was Harry. Anyway, everyone thought I had written a Valentine card with bad poetry to him, something about blackboard hair. I still don’t know who wrote it, but not me. He was my hero, but Hermione was my crush throughout my school years, with her gorgeous bushy hair and her clever mind. I’m like Ron, we are attracted to intellectual women.” Ginny looked into Astoria’s eyes. The intellectual brilliance had been the first thing she had noticed about Astoria, and it had attracted her like a magnet, long before those beautiful eyes and those amazing breasts that were definitely too close to her face in this position not to think of them. _Ginevra Potter, get your mind out of the gutter!_

“Harry and I tried dating and kissing, because we were expected to do so. They knew I always wanted to be close to Ron’s best friends, so it had to be Harry, they concluded, And Harry was interested in me, but the interest turned out not to be sexual. His experience with loving mothers was an image of his red-headed mother who died to save his life, and my red-headed mother. I guess he saw me a little like a mini-mom.”   
Astoria seemed to cuddle up closer. 

“We snogged a little, but both didn’t feel it,” Ginny continued, “Eventually, we awkwardly tried to have sexual intercourse, and I purposely use the technical term here. It was rather as if we were experimenting with mystery potions than doing something intimate for enjoyment. We both spoke about how it failed, and for the first time, we could confide in somebody about what we really were attracted to. Afterwards we were too busy fighting against Voldemort to even think about love lives. My first, and so far only, girlfriend was a colleague from the Harpies. But she just wanted to have fun before beginning a suitable Pureblood marriage. She broke up with me because I let Harry, my brothers and my parents know we were in a relationship. At the same time, Harry and I were both pursued by Rita Skeeter and some other reporters. When I saw Harry getting more and more stressed out, I suggested faking a marriage and having children in the Muggle way that doesn’t involve direct sexual intercourse.”   
“How does that work?”   
“He wanked into a tube, and a Muggle doctor fertilized me with the cum. That’s a bit simplified, but…”   
“Still sounds less awkward than sexual intercourse you don’t like. I wish Draco and I had known about this way of becoming pregnant when we had to get an heir. The whole time, he assumed he was hurting me. And he had to take a potion to even be able to get in without it flagging. He never said anything, but I just assumed it was my fault.” 

“Our society teaches us to blame ourselves and feel like losers if things don’t work in that area. Minerva McGonagall and Poppy Pomfrey have tried for decades to put sex education on the curriculum in Hogwarts. It was always cut down to ‘we let them smell Amortentia in Potions class, so we are oh-so-progressive. People get laid whether they learn about it in school or not.’ But Andromeda was informed that Teddy’s generation will be the first generation to get sex education because Hermione and Ron had a lengthy talk with Kingsley.”   
“It was not only awkward for him, but also for me, lying there waiting for him to finish. I don’t know why others make such a fuss about what men do with us.” 

“Did he try to give you pleasure with his fingers or his tongue?”   
Astoria stared at her with her mouth open.   
“I’m sorry, Astoria. I should not have said that.”   
“No, I’m glad you said it. Only I’ve never heard of it before.”   
“You can even do something with your fingers for yourself. But maybe you have done that before.”   
“Never. I was taught that any touching myself down there apart from washing is disgusting.”   
“It is not, it is completely normal. Most people do that. And for most people, it feels good.” She got up and picked a book from her shelf. The title was: “Witches’ Guide to a Safe and Enjoyable Love Life” by PP. “Guess who is hiding behind PP?”   
“Who?”   
“Our Madame Pomfrey. She has written a book with all the things she was never allowed to hold class about, but that she thinks every adult witch should know.”   
“Amazing. Can I borrow it?”   
“You can have it permanently, I have read it a few times, and if I need it again, I will borrow it from you.” She winked at Astoria. 

Astoria began reading, and after a few pages she asked Ginny if she could borrow a muggle mirror and went to the bathroom.   
_I should have asked Hermione to talk to Astoria about this. Now I imagine her exploring her own body. I know that it is what she is doing at this very moment. Was it okay at all that I told her about this? With all the feelings I have for her? I must try to think of something else._  
Ginny took a few deep breaths. Then she tried to read in “Remus Lupin’s Essays, edited and commented by Hermione Granger”. But she caught herself rubbing her fingertips across her breasts and not really getting the meanings of the sentences she was reading. All she could think of was a list of things she longed to do with Astoria. _‘I wish I could kiss her lips, the dimples that appear on her cheeks when she is smiling. I wish I could make love to her.’_  
Ginny forced herself to lie on her back, cross her arms behind her head and behave. After some time, she heard the shower, and later Astoria came back wrapped in a bath towel and with a smile on her face.   
“You are right, it feels amazing.”   
_‘Ginevra Potter, get your mind out of the gutter at once!’_ Ginny scolded herself while trying to look neutral and not to blush. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

“Draco, what will you eat for breakfast?” Ginny asked as soon as the two men entered the kitchen at eight o’ clock and greeted the women and kids.   
“I don’t really have an appetite. Harry insisted that I keep you people company.”   
“Only keep us company? You will eat some kind of breakfast, no matter how small. Don’t give them the power over you to prevent you from having a healthy breakfast. I didn’t ask if you will eat, but what you will eat.”   
“I feel like I can only drink something, but not eat,” he mumbled.   
“Okay, you’ll drink a smoothie. Scorpius, have you ever made a smoothie?” Al chimed in.   
“That’s a good idea. Boys, do you want to make it?” Ginny turned to Astoria and Draco, “Al is really proud whenever he is allowed to make smoothies. So, what fruits do you want?”   
“I like apples, bananas, berries, mangoes and lychees.” 

“We’ll take apple juice for the apples,” Ginny decided. She handed the boys cutting boards, and gave Scorpius a banana and the lychees, and Al the berries and a mango. The boys sorted, peeled and cut the fruits and filled the blender with them. Then they tasted with spoons.   
“Let’s add some nana mint, tulsi and bee balm,” Al suggested. “They brighten up the mood, Grandma says.”  
“Daddy surely needs some brightening up. I think his foul mood has to do with my Grandma and Grandpas. He argued with them, and they don’t want him anymore. But I think Grandma will change her mind. She loves Daddy. Actually, I don’t mind not seeing Grandpa Claudius again. He is scary.”   
“We can share my grandparents. I think they like you.”   
The next few sentences were drowned in the loud BWWWWWWWWWWW of the blender cutting the herbs. Then the boys tasted again with new spoons and brought Draco a big glass filled with the smoothie.   
Draco forced himself to take the first sip, but then he noticed that drinking the smoothie felt good. The others finished their breakfast, but Draco sat there, once in a while sipping and otherwise staring off into the distance. When the smoothie was finished, he only stared through the open window. 

Suddenly, Draco felt a weight on his shoulder and the familiar touch of Eagle Owl talons. “Get off my shoulder and land on the table, as is appropriate for a post owl. I can’t retrieve the letter like this,” he scolded.   
“Daddy, Mercury was there for a long time. I tugged at your sleeve and you didn’t react. You were sleeping with your eyes open,” Scorpius intervened.   
“Forgive me. I have lots of sorrows.”  
“Daddy, all will be well in the end. You have Mommy and me, Harry and Ginny, the Weasleys, Uncle Blaise and Uncle Neville, Aunty Pansy and Uncle Greg. Mr. Shacklebolt, he’s the Minister of Magic…”   
Draco hugged his son, “Thank you for reminding me. It’s true. I’ll never be alone. I’ll be like Sirius. Disowned, but some of my family will stay in my life, and I’m free to choose my friends as the rest of my family.” 

He cast a few detecting spells on the letter. It was safe to open it. Still, he considered Incendioing it, unread. Then a thought crossed his mind. He would never know what they were up to if he didn’t read it. He took the letter and fetched a treat for Mercury.   
“Goodbye, Mercury. I don’t think I’ll ever see you again. Take care. You’re a good owl.” He sighed, and carried the letter into the house to Harry, the children trailing behind him. 

He tried to read, but tears blurred his vision. “Can you read it for me? I’m too upset,” he asked Harry.   
Harry pulled him into a hug. “Whatever is written there, you don’t have to go through this alone. You will never be alone again unless you want to be alone. I love you.”   
“Thank you. I love you, too.” 

“Dear Draco,   
Please meet me at the Manor. It is very important. There is something you must see, and the Manor   
requires your presence.   
Your Mother” 

“What kind of thing is that? Why does she want me to come to the Manor now? Does she want to show me that I no longer belong there? Or does she want me to pack my things?”   
Harry began to rub circles on the small of his back. Draco knew the expression in his face. Harry was determined to find out what it was all about, but Draco could not simply go to the Manor now. The wards might fight him; it might be a trap by his father; or they might try to get Scorpius. 

“Harry, do you have an owl? I must decline.”   
“Daddy, stay with Draco, I’ll get Pig. Scorpius, do you want to come with me?” Al shouted eagerly.   
Ginny and Harry’s kids seemed to take the Malfoys’ presence as a pleasant expanding of their family. They were especially fond of Scorpius.   
Draco wrote the message the owl was to take to his mother.

“Mother,   
I’m aware that I was burnt out of the family tree. How could I set foot into the Manor again? The wards   
may consider me an intruder. I’m not ready to end up in St. Mungo’s.   
Draco”

Pig took the message and headed for Wiltshire. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

The Floo kept showing signs of rejected fire-calls again and again throughout the morning, while Ginny and Astoria were busying themselves in the drawing room. Ginny evaluated information on new Quidditch players that would join the various teams in the upcoming season, paying only half attention because she was hyper-aware of Astoria’s presence on the other side of the table. And Astoria painted a picture of her sitting in the armchair with parchments and a clipboard.   
“What the…” Astoria burst out after the twenty-fourth turned down fire-call. “Can’t these hypocrites leave us alone after they burnt Draco out of the family tree?” 

Ginny decided to accept a warded call—a fire-call without seeing the person’s face—that allowed no more magic than hearing each other’s voice.   
“Ginevra Potter here – yes please. This is a warded connection.”   
“Mrs. Potter – thank Merlin you are answering this fire-call. I’m Narcissa Malfoy. Please, if Draco is around, help me. I must talk to him.”   
“I can carry a message to him and ask him if he will talk through the warded Floo, but it’s his decision.”   
“Believe me, I had nothing to do with the plot against him. And I miss my son.”   
Ginny heard a sobbing sound from the other side of the Floo.   
“Are you crying, Mrs. Malfoy?”   
“Y-yes.”   
Ginny had never thought that anything could make Mrs. Malfoy cry. She had always looked like the most disciplined person Ginny had ever seen, perhaps looking disgusted, bored or annoyed, but making the impression as if ordinary sadness were far beneath her.   
“Okay, Mrs. Malfoy, stay there. Let me talk to him and then either he will talk to you or I will tell you what he said.” She went to the kitchen, where Draco was still sitting and staring out of the window. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

“Ginny, I’m not sure if I can bear to hear her voice now. It feels as if my legs were cut off.”   
“I understand you, Draco,” Astoria said, “Ever since you could speak complete sentences you were taught to care for and protect the Malfoy heritage. And now my father, who isn’t even a Malfoy, burned you out of the family tree.”   
Harry embraced him from behind, and Draco leaned into the embrace, while Harry told him, “You are more than a Malfoy. You are Draco, the man who spends a lot of time and money to heal wounds his father inflicted.”   
“I inflicted wounds, too.”   
“Yes, but first you were a boy who had not learned to question his father’s beliefs, and then acting against them bore the threat of the Killing Curse. And as soon as you felt you could, you did act against them. You claimed that you were not sure it was me that night at the Manor after I had been captured by Snatchers. I saw in your eyes that you knew. You gave me your wand to defeat Voldemort with it. I wouldn’t be here without you.”   
“As if you didn’t save my life.”   
“Draco, don’t talk yourself down. You are precious. No matter what name you use. I will love you and be there for you. Now, what should Ginny tell your mother?”   
“If I talk to her, will you all be there to help me?”   
“You should know we will.” 

They went into the drawing room and stood in front of the chimney. Harry and Draco were holding hands, and Astoria and Ginny each stood behind him, Astoria with one hand on his right shoulder and Ginny with one hand on his left shoulder. The women whispered strengthening charms so that only Draco and Harry could hear, in order not to disturb the conversation. 

Draco braced himself and said in a composed voice, “Mother, here I am. What did you want to tell me?”   
“Draco, I’m so glad to hear your voice. Please, you have to come to the Manor. You have to perform something in the Tapestry room to stabilize the Manor. The problem is until this has been performed, we can only speak about it in the tapestry room. It works a bit like a Fidelius charm.”   
“Why me? Claudius burnt me out.”   
“Because the Manor is loyal to you. No one else can do it. I cannot speak about it, but be assured that you are not in danger. Still, if you feel better, bring as many Aurors and Curse Breakers with you as you think you need to feel safe. And don’t think too long. The Manor must be stabilized before the European Potions legislation conference.”   
“I’ll fire-call the DMLE and then I’ll tell you when to expect us.”   
“Draco, son, I miss you.”   
Draco had no words. He only leaned into Harry’s arms, and Ginny fire-called the DMLE.


	7. Sixth day, afternoon

At lunch, only the children had appetites. They were chattering about going to the Burrow after eating, while the adults pushed the rice from one side of their plates to the other, pretending to eat rather than eating. They were planning to go with Ron, Bill and a few colleagues of theirs (Aurors as well as Curse Breakers) to the Manor at two o’clock.  
When the kids had finished their meal, Harry cast a Tempus. It was one o’clock. He Flooed to the Burrow with the children and returned after five minutes with Ron and Bill. 

“So, do you think it can be true that the house is loyal to me?” Draco asked Bill.  
“Sentient houses have a certain freedom. Like, it can deny your father the loyalty, since firstly, you have run the Malfoy business for years now, and secondly, your father has not been around for a long time. It might even — no, I shouldn’t say that unless I see that it is real. But there may be positive surprises. Definitely with three Aurors and three Curse Breakers and Harry, Ginny, and Astoria, you should be safe.”  
“Mother told me she has to show me something, but she can’t talk about it because the house is unstable and, in this case, a Fidelius charm applies. What do you think of that?” Draco inquired.  
“Again, I don’t want to say too much before I know anything, but from my experience with cases in which someone has meddled with the stability of a family house, it is not unusual. The secret keeper is the person running the family affairs, even if they have no idea of the secret.” Bill explained. 

“But I’m no longer in the family tapestry.”  
“It may be that you are still necessary there. The house can demand your presence, to make it available to your heir. And before your heir comes of age, it is possible that the house may refuse to acknowledge anybody. You may have to declare Scorpius your heir. Then the house will be in a kind of waiting state until he comes of age. But nobody will be able to snatch it from Scorpius or use the house to force something on him. There might be also another reason, but we should not expect it. This other possibility would be the better one, but it is too unlikely.”  
They Apparated to the gate of the Manor. Seamus and Morag awaited them already, and after a few minutes two more people Apparated in. One was an Asian woman, whom Bill introduced as Mei. O’Connell, the other person, looked androgynous and had cucumber green hair. Draco assumed that they were a Metamorphmagus, but as they were not changing, he was not sure. 

Once Bill motioned that everyone was present, Draco turned to the gate. “Please, inform Mistress Narcissa that we are here.”  
“Gladly, Master Draco,” the gate replied submissively, “but you can also enter yourself and let your guests in. You have every right to do so.”  
Bill, Mei and O’Connell exchanged a glance, and O’Connell smiled at Draco. “This sounds encouraging. We can go.”  
Draco led them across the lawn past some leucistic peafowl to the terrace door of the Manor. The door opened at a glance from Draco, just like it had done one week ago when the whole world had still seemed different. Narcissa awaited them in the green Salon, directly behind the terrace door. 

“Draco, thank goodness you are here. I was so afraid of not seeing you again, son. Please, forgive the unseemly behavior I will display now, and forgive also my former attitude towards your love for Mr. Potter. You are right, it is your life. You have the right to decide what to do with it.” She stepped closer to Draco and pulled him into a hug. Tears rolled down her face, smearing her makeup.  
Draco’s tears started flowing, too. 

When they had calmed down, Narcissa apologized to the others again for acting unseemly in their presence and not greeting them befittingly.  
“Sometimes, reconciling is more important,” Harry said mildly.  
Narcissa smiled at him and said under her breath, “Astoria is right. The best my Draco can choose under these circumstances.” 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

The group walked solemnly to the tapestry room. At the door, Narcissa stopped. “Everybody, take a look from the threshold, but for now, only Draco may enter. Aurors, Curse Breakers, please check from the threshold, if any dark magic is in the room.” 

O’Connell stepped into the threshold and made scanning moves with their wand, chanting different detection charms. “No residue of dark spells performed in the room in the last three years. As the Imperius was not successfully performed, it didn’t develop any energy.” 

O’Connell stepped back, making space for Bill and Mei. The two of them stood on the threshold side by side, Bill holding his wand in his right hand, Mei holding hers in her left hand. While Bill performed scans for dark objects somebody might have carried into the room, Mei seemed to be in some kind of interaction with the tapestry. She was humming a kind of irregular tune, while different parts of the tapestry turned brighter or darker. Astoria was fascinated.  
When Bill stepped back, Mei was still humming, until suddenly the tapestry lit up as if a spotlight were shining on it. 

A surprised sound filled the corridor as everybody looked through the door, then everybody started chattering at once: “Draco, do you see this?” — “It’s amazing, but how…” — “He didn’t…” 

It was not Draco who had been burnt out. His name and face looked neat and pristine, even brighter than most other names and faces on the tapestry, with the only exception of Scorpius, whose shone as if there was a lamp behind him. But under Draco, there was a scorched place beside Narcissa’s face, where Lucius was supposed to be. Of his first name, only the first two letters remained — the sign that only he was burnt out, but his wife and offspring remained in the family. 

“Draco, go into the tapestry room and do your duty as head of the Malfoy family. You need to assume a new middle name, ‘Lucius’ is no longer appropriate. Do you know what you want your middle name to be?” Narcissa prompted.  
“Do I have to know any rules for this?” Draco asked hesitantly.  
Mei was the one who answered. “Choose a name you feel comfortable with. It can be a relative, but it is not necessary. And consider that the name might be used in future generations.”  
Draco whispered something lengthy into Mei’s ear.  
“That’s an excellent idea. And yes, all of that is possible,” Mei whispered something, then spoke louder again. “But I cannot make this decision for you.”

With solemn steps, Draco strode towards his name on the tapestry, drew his wand in an elegant move, like a dancer, pointed it at the blurred middle name, and proclaimed: “From now on I shall be known as Draco Sirius Regulus Malfoy. I choose Sirius as the male relative I wish most I had known when I was younger and Regulus because we both have a history of wanting to make good for the wrong we did before.”  
Both middle names appeared on the tapestry, but Mei looked disappointed. “Something is still missing. The bond required to create an heir has been met, but the house requests a bond of love, as well. Have you ever heard of the Fidelius binding ceremony? You can bind yourself one-sided or mutual, for any time between a month and eternity, if Astoria consents freely to allow a binding.”

Astoria spoke up with a calm, strong voice. “I consent to let Draco bind himself, requiring the freedom to bind myself in due season.”  
“Before you, and under the protection of the Fidelius charm, I bind myself to Harry James Potter, to love him for eternity,” Draco spoke the ancient formula. 

The house buzzed and vibrated with magic. The side of the tapestry Draco’s name was on seemed to expand. It radiated a rapidly changing luminescence, that made it hard to look at the tapestry, and even harder to recognize anything.  
Astoria noticed Harry talking to Mei, then whispering to Ginny, who smiled and answered something, but the buzzing was too loud to hear what he was saying. 

Mei beckoned as if to say, “Go ahead,” and Harry stepped into the room. He joined his wand hand with Draco’s wand hand and around the wand that still was pointed at Draco’s name.  
“Before you, and under the protection of the Fidelius charm, I bind myself to Draco Sirius Regulus Malfoy, to love him for eternity.” 

The Manor seemed to calm down. Most of the surplus magic seemed to be absorbed into the tapestry and the buzzing ended.  
“Are we married now?” Harry asked Draco.  
“A Fidelius binding has the status of a betrothal, but for people married otherwise for dynastic reasons. And it is not valid without the consent of the respective spouse. Yet our magic is now linked for eternity. If Astoria and Ginny can bind themselves, be it to each other or to anybody else, temporarily or eternally, our binding will transform into an unofficial but magically valid marriage. And then we can officialize it.”  
“Draco, I’m glad we belong together for eternity now.” 

~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Narcissa invited everybody to have a glass of champagne in the winter garden, as it was a rainy day.  
While the elves served champagne and chocolates, Narcissa asked Draco to have a short talk with her in the Primrose chamber. Draco complied, and she beckoned him to the best armchair, before taking a seat on a footstool. 

“Mother, why… take care of your health; sit on something better.”  
“Draco, you know why I sit here. I regret how I treated you last time you were here. I want you to know that I believe losing your father is the lesser evil, not only because he is terminally ill, but because I see very well how much evil he caused. And, on the other hand, you… Son, I am proud of how you use your intelligent mind and the Malfoy resources. When you and Astoria had gone, I was brooding alone for a while, then Andi firecalled. When I told her about our argument, she arranged a dinner meeting with the authors of _A LGBTQ+ History of the Wizarding World._ I think you should meet Chris, Mattias, Robin and Sara one day. They proved to me that a lot of beliefs I grew up with are, firstly, toxic, and secondly, not the foundation of the wizarding world, as I had been taught to believe, but merely 250 years old and based on lies.” She shifted on the stool. 

“Mother, I can’t watch you sitting there. I have forgiven you. And I expect you to forgive yourself. Your knees will hurt for days if you keep sitting there,” Draco tried again, now that he could get a word in. When she still didn’t get up, he asked, “Must I levitate the stool? Or will you go sit on something appropriate now? By Salazar! Stop that house elf behavior of punishing yourself.” 

Finally, Narcissa got up and sat on the armchair next to Draco’s. Draco smiled at her and took her hand. “Do you feel guilty for what he did? Don’t. His bad choices are not your fault. You were raised to be his puppet, to bear his heir and do what he wants you to do. But you made your own decision when Harry’s life depended on it. I may not have spoken about it, but I overheard when you tried to influence him to accept my decisions after he was released from Azkaban because of his health. You tried to keep the family together, but with Father’s level of intolerance, I knew I lost him years ago — the first time I made a decision of my own. Every day, I choose to be me, and not the Malfoy puppet he wants to have. And since I have done so, I want to live, while before I longed to Avada Kedavra myself. It makes me feel sick to think I spent most of my teenage years trying to get his approval, but always failing.” He paused. Narcissa lowered her gaze, looking devastated. “Mother, I know you always loved him, and I accept it if you visit him, on condition that you never lend him your wand, never tell him anything about me or my friends, and never do anything magical if he asks you. I’m relieved that his own wand is a third-degree probation wand, only powerful enough for Lumos, Nox, Tempus, and Lege.”  
“Draco, I don’t know if I want to see him again, but I am glad you accept it if I want to,” Narcissa smiled at him.  
When they returned to the winter garden, Draco felt as if a gigantic load had been lifted from his back. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

“Mei, I don’t understand this,” Astoria asked. “There is a functioning magical ceremony that makes a same-sex relationship valid and legitimate, the magic of Malfoy Manor can even demand it to be performed, but gay people have been burned out of the family trees for generations. What the fuck is wrong with wizarding society? Excuse my language, Narcissa.” 

Before Mei could answer, Narcissa addressed Astoria. “Astoria, dear, since our last conversation I have had a talk with Andi and four amazing young friends of hers, Chris, Mattias, Robin and Sara, who are the authors of _A LGBTQ+ History of the Wizarding World._ They have convinced me that it was only in the last 250 years that we have forgotten that same-sex relationships, as well as gender-fluid or trans sorcerers, have always existed and been part of society. In fact, there have been lots of ceremonies proving representation of LGBTQ+ was normal, before the Blood Purist ideology got so strong. I regret that I was intolerant towards Draco’s love for Harry.”  
“Narcissa, I’m glad you changed your mind. And I know how much it means to Draco,”  
Astoria replied, but her mind was busy elsewhere. She kept looking at Ginny, daydreaming of binding herself to her. But could that ever happen? 

“Astoria, dear, can we talk alone?” Narcissa beckoned to the door that leads to the Green Salon. Astoria got up and followed her. They sat on the sofa, and Narcissa put her hand on Astoria’s shoulder. “You fancy her? I think Mrs. Potter fancies you, too. I couldn’t place the look on her face when I saw you at the gazebo, but looking back and watching you both today, I think you are likely to become a couple.”  
Astoria smiled hesitantly. She was surprised by Narcissa’s words and unsure what to say. 

“If you and Mrs. Potter want to bind yourselves, later on, you can do so at our tapestry. You know, being Scorpius’ mother, you will always be part of it. And you can always feel at home here. You have my blessing. I have changed my opinion, because of new information. And a binding ceremony at a tapestry looks more festive than on a parchment.”  
Astoria hugged her. “Thank you. I don’t know if she has feelings for me. She could have more beautiful women, healthier women…”  
“But it would be hard for her to find a more caring, more patient woman; and if she wants an equally intelligent woman, I only know of one and that one is married to her brother. Astoria, I believe she likely fancies you.”  
“Thank you for your confidence in my attractiveness. I wish it were true. And thank you for having come to accept that we are living our lives differently from the way you learned to live yours.” Astoria smiled at Narcissa, and the older woman squeezed her hand.  
“Astoria, I may have been prejudiced, but I care for you. You are always at home here, and so is Mrs. Potter from now on. And now, let’s go back in. I think you young people still have plans for today? Mr. Weasley mentioned a celebration in his brother’s shop.” 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

“Time to go and change your clothes for the party at Weasley’s Wizarding Wheezes,” Ginny’s timer charm boomed.  
Harry looked into Draco’s eyes. “You will want to wear clothes that you wouldn’t miss if they got ruined.”  
“So, you mean to tell me Weasleys throw clothes-ruining parties? As poor as they have always been?” Draco was flabbergasted.  
Harry chuckled. “Times have changed for the Weasleys. They are no longer poor. Furthermore, it is only George that throws parties that ruin your clothes.” He whispered something in Draco’s ear that made him grin like a Cheshire cat. 

“George’s parties are – kind of related to his joke shop and sometimes rather silly. They show how much he is missing Fred because he wants to celebrate the way they used to when Fred was still alive. We might even have to put up with Spin the Bottle or something like that because Fred’s portrait doesn’t grow older.” Ginny explained, and it sounded like half an apology. 

Astoria smiled reassuringly. “He is not the only one who does so. My aunty Phyllis celebrated silly birthdays until old age, because of her deceased twin sister. So, today is George’s birthday?”  
“No, that’s on April first. Today is the anniversary of opening the WWW shop in Diagon Alley.“ 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

At George’s place, Hermione, Ron and Angelina, as well as Bill and Fleur, greeted them joyfully. George grabbed a glass of champagne and called out, “To Harry and Draco, our new lovebirds! And to Ginny and Astoria, and that sparkle in their eyes—yet to define, but mighty!” He then asked her to accompany him to the kitchen as soon as Astoria had sat down beside Hermione. “Ginny, could you help me with your legendary salad dressing?” 

“Astoria, I’ll be back in one minute.” Ginny smiled reassuringly. “Could you reserve the place beside you for me?”  
She overheard Hermione starting a conversation about a new bill for the promotion of Squib rights, its improvements and shortcomings, as she closed the kitchen door behind herself. She was well aware that the dressing was nothing but a polite excuse, as she had gotten the recipe from Angelina. 

“So, you wanted to discuss the latest Potter News, dear brother.” She winked.  
“Well, actually, the Weasley-Potter News. It finally happened. Harry and Malfoy have resorted to dueling with the wands no expelliarmus can deprive them of and using their mouths for something else than spells. Fred and I had bets going about that since Harry’s fifth year. And now they are even bound to each other. You and Astoria, however, is the story in which the protagonists seem to dance around each other. But how is your relationship with Astoria?”  
Ginny shrugged. “I can’t just tell her, ‘Hey, Astoria, be happy that your husband loves mine and they have bound themselves for eternity, so that I can make love to you.’ It’s already a miracle that she is getting used to seeing them snogging so soon.” 

“Au contraire, as your posh lady would say. I’ll bet you anything that she is crazy for you. Those looks she gives you! And as you left for the kitchen just now, her gaze followed your steps, like she wants to hold you back and kiss you.”  
“Did she look at me like that? But she has yet to figure out where she herself stands. You know, her blood purist upbringing…” Ginny aggressively stirred the salad dressing that Angelina had made already.  
“Shite! But I think if she doesn’t know yet, she’ll know before the evening has passed. We have enough here to help her open her eyes.” 

“Don’t you dare give her a love potion! If you mess with her ability to decide about consenting, I’ll hex you into next millennium, with a bat bogey hex on top.” Ginny frowned at him.  
“Hey, I might be a prankster, but I’m no criminal. I won’t manipulate her mind. I’ll just give you both some romantic opportunities.”  
“I’d feel safer if you discussed anything you consider doing with Hermione first. Now, shouldn’t we join the others again?”  
“You’re missing Lady Astoria already?” George teased.  
“Watch your mouth, I just read about a cool new hex.” 

They had just finished a delicious dinner, when George spoke up. “Dear guests, I will now tell you the program for the rest of the evening. First, we will play a little Truth or Dare in memory of Fred, who liked this game particularly…” George’s eyes rested on Astoria and Ginny. “Then I will present our new product line, as well as the best-selling products of the year. There will also be the opportunity to try out Angelina’s Romantic Timeouts for Parents. And last but not least, we’ll have our three Fun Rooms to enjoy making a mess. It’s never too late to have a happy childhood.” 

“Do you know what that is?” Astoria whispered to Ginny.  
“Only one room. There is an Indian muggle Holyday on which people throw paint at each other. Since George and Angelina spent their honeymoon in India exactly at that time, they are crazy for it. It’s fun.” 

“Harry, truth or dare?” George asked, getting the game started.  
“Truth.”  
“Who was your first crush?”  
“Ron.”  
“When?” Ron exclaimed with a gobsmacked look on his face.  
“Fourth year.”  
“I thought you had fancied Cho or Cedric.”  
“Well, I noticed how good-looking they both were with their Quidditch muscles, but they could not hold a candle to you. They had not followed their boggart animal with me or tried to protect me with a broken leg.”  
“I love you – but more as if you were one of my brothers.” Ron’s voice sounded confused. 

“Ron, I grew out of that crush, too. You belong with Hermione. And I have found what I’ve been searching for in Draco. Truth or dare, bro?”  
“Truth,” Ron said.  
“Have you ever had a same-sex crush?”  
“Viktor Krum.” Ron looked embarrassed.  
“Hah, I knew it!” Hermione laughed.  
“Are you not jealous?” Ron’s voice sounded confused.  
“It was a long time ago, Ron. And you married me. I know what we do at night. I’m happy.” 

“Draco, truth or dare?” Ron suddenly exclaimed, rather smugly.  
“Dare.”  
“Do the Tango with Harry.”  
Draco took a bow in front of Harry, and they Tango-ed through the room, changing roles in the middle of the dance. Ginny was surprised that Harry had learned to dance the Tango. Last time she had attended a dancing occasion with him, he had just looked awkward and stepped on her feet.  
“Bloody hell, I wanted to punish Harry for not telling us about Draco. And now he is dancing like a dance instructor,” Ron mumbled and took a sip from his Phoenix feather cocktail.  
“He’s like Charlie, he can only dance with dragons. He’s lucky he found a dragon who is a human being,” Ginny smirked. 

“Ginny, truth or dare?” Draco said it kindly, but Ginny’s mouth felt dry with a nervousness that she had never felt playing truth or dare when she was a teenager. Then, it was just a game, but today it seemed to determine how things with Astoria might progress.  
“Ginny, truth or dare?” Draco repeated.  
“D-dare” She finally got out.  
“Kiss Astoria.” 

What if she doesn’t want to? I’d better behave myself. I don’t want to offend her. Ginny gave Astoria a shy peck on the cheek.  
“What do you think you’re doing?” Astoria complained. “Do you assume I’m a prude or a child? Kiss me properly!”  
“Sorry, I didn’t want to overstep possible boundaries.”  
“Next time you ask before you assume. I don’t want to get the pureblood treatment, and especially not from you.” Astoria pulled her close, and before Ginny realized what was going on, she felt Astoria’s lips on hers, slightly parted. After a few moments she realized had been moments of waiting, Astoria’s tongue touched her lips, starting a perfect nonverbal dialogue about the sweetest things that can be done in other people’s presence. Astoria’s lips felt gloriously soft, and the kiss tasted of chocolate covered almonds. Ginny wanted to resist the temptation to fully enjoy it, but her heart was beating faster, and – and it was what she had dreamed of. No, it was just a dare. But it was amazing.  
The kiss ended too soon, but both were already short of breath. 

“Now Astoria showed you how far you can go without a shadow of a worry. Now, kiss her!” George’s voice sounded as if she was trying his patience.  
She kissed Astoria carefully, trying not to get carried away, and to not make it last too long. It was just a kiss in a game. Astoria had probably just tried to prove she could overcome pureblood rules. There would most likely never be another one, so it would be safer to just not feel it too much. And all the close contact, didn’t mean anything, except that Astoria was not aware where the boundary between friendship and more was, outside of the pureblood bubble she had grown up in. Draco felt guilty about Astoria, and it was wishful thinking that they could be more than friends. And George, well...George was probably only out for some mischief. 

_Concentrate. Continue the game_ , Ginny thought, then said, “Hermione, truth or dare?”  
“Truth.”  
“Was Victor Krum a teenage crush of yours, too?”  
“No, that time I wanted Ron to become jealous. And Viktor was a safe option.”  
Draco laughed. “I thought I was snatching him from you.”  
“You underestimated me. If I had not seen you guys snogging in the arithmancy classroom, I would have declined going to the ball with him.”  
“Just snogging? You must have seen us early.”  
“Well, I might have seen something more, but I didn’t consider the information necessary.” 

“George, truth or dare?”  
“Dare, of course.”  
“Take a Mystery Transfiguring Meringue.”  
George took one, unwrapped it, and munched on it. Every strand of his hair took on a different color, his nose transformed into a snout, and his ears assumed the shape of Dachshund ears. He looked at his reflection in a mirror beside the tray with the Meringues struck a pose. “The meringues are inspired by Tonks.”  
“She would have loved them.” Harry said.  
“Oh, I do. And you?”  
All heads turned to the portrait of Tonks in the back of the room.  
“George told me to surprise you at some time. George, may I …”  
George nodded. 

“Astoria, truth or dare?”  
“Truth.” She took a sip from her drink.  
“What did you feel when Ginny was kissing you?”  
“I wanted the kiss to last forever, I wanted to be alone with her. I want to tell her I love her.” Astoria said with a shaky voice.  
Ginny’s face heated up. “Astoria, I love you, too,” she whispered. Too silent, she won’t hear it.  
Astoria gave her a stern look. “Ginny, I’m not asking you. You’ll take dare! You go somewhere with me where we can be alone for a while.”  
“Fred, you assign something for Harry,” Ginny told Fred’s portrait; then she took Astoria’s hand and they rushed to the guest room. 

“If you love me, why didn’t you want to kiss me properly?” Astoria played nervously with her bracelet.  
“I was afraid of overstepping boundaries. And I wanted our first proper kiss to be ours and not something someone told us to do. Truth or dare kisses are so teenage. And I – I didn’t know how you feel.” She paced the floor until Astoria stepped into her way and took her hands.  
“How about us doing some mature kissing and define that as our first real kiss?” A giggle proved that Astoria was more nervous than she wanted to show. 

Both leaned forward and wrapped their arms around each other Their lips touched, both slightly open, and their tongues started stroking each other, exploring each other’s mouths, slowly and tenderly. Ginny smiled into the kiss as she heard Astoria make a little sound. Astoria’s mouth tasted of Piña Colada and happiness. It wasn’t a perfect kiss, but Astoria’s inexperienced kissing was perfectly endearing.  
When they had to break the kiss because they needed to breathe, Astoria whispered, “This was amazing. Draco never liked kissing me. But knowing what we know now, it is logical.” She pulled Ginny to the bed and made her sit down. 

“Let’s take it slow. We’ve both had alcohol,” Ginny forced herself to say.  
“Okay, but the only place to sit here is the bed. Don’t you want me? You are the one with some experience. And I thought when people don’t follow the pureblood rules, they are more inclined to do things earlier on.”  
“Earlier on, maybe, but not irresponsibly. I love you and want you too much to go for it when we both are not sober. I want it to work out; I want to make you happy long term. Not for a drunken night, only to lose you in the morning.”  
“But kissing is okay?”  
“Yes,” Ginny whispered as she leaned forward, letting out a small gasp as Astoria’s lips met hers again.

After kissing for a while, they returned to the others just as George was ending the game of truth or dare. Everyone but Ginny and Astoria had tasted a magical snack. Angelina was floating in the air, Ron was speaking with a chipmunk voice, and Hermione’s voice sounded like a baritone. Bill and Fleur were de-aged into five-year-olds, and Harry and Draco had swapped bodies. 

“George interviewed Poppy on the funniest potion disasters and how to reverse them recently,” Tonks explained.  
“I see,” Ginny said dryly, but then lightened up when she noticed Astoria’s body shaking with silent giggling. It soon fought its way out to become loud, unrestrained, contagious laughter. Ginny joined in, and the laughter spread first to Bill and Fleur, then to Hermione and Ron, to Harry and Draco, Angelina and, finally, to George.  
“Any meringues left? I could…” Astoria finally asked George, once their laughter subsided.  
“No, I didn’t make enough prototype meringues. But next time…” he paused, then continued, ”You just passed the ‘George Test,’ welcome to the family.” He hugged her, let go, and hugged her again. “That second hug was for my twin brother.” 

Astoria saw the sadness lurking behind the mischief and remembered the other Weasley twin, Fred. His missing in George’s life due to death must be just like her curse disease, breaking into happy times and tainting the moment. She reminded herself of what Draco had told her: “Even more reason to seize the day.”  
“George, didn’t you say something of a Bubble room, and a Holi Room?” Harry asked, looking forward to throwing paint at Draco in an Indian tradition.

George took a deep breath, and Astoria recognized relief in George’s face. Something to do. Something to keep the lurking sadness in control.  
It came to her then, what prejudicial nonsense she had been told about the Weasleys in her childhood. Loud and uncultivated, poor because they are over-impulsive… Well, the Weasleys were louder than the Greengrasses, but they celebrated as loud as Draco and his father had argued, when Lucius was at the Manor in the six months between Azkaban and St. Mungo’s. The Weasleys had a culture of accepting the unexpected, welcoming people, and giving second chances, which proved them rather reflective once they were no longer teenagers. They were a what-you-see-is-what-you-get kind of people. Something Slytherins were expected to not be. But Astoria had grown to appreciate it, in people, especially.  
“Your family is awesome,” she told Ginny, and Ginny’s smile turned even brighter.  
She reached over to Astoria and pulled her into a hug, whispering, “Thank you for taking my family as they are.”  
“You are what you are because of them, and they are the most lovable, crazy bunch I never knew I needed in my life. But I do.” 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

They still danced and snogged in the Bubble Room, but when George distributed the paint powder, Astoria had to decline. It would be too dangerous for her lungs. Ginny saw that she looked tired.  
“Astoria, would you like us to go home?”  
For an instant Astoria’s face lit up, but then worry showed. “I don’t want to be a killjoy.”  
“And you could not be. Remember, George is my brother; anything fun we miss today, we can do whenever we are up to it.”  
“And it’s really no problem?”  
“Astoria, I love you. And I couldn’t have fun if it might harm you. “  
Astoria looked at her as if she was surprised. “I love you, too.”  
“Let’s go home.”  
They shouted their goodnight through the door into the Holy Room and Flooed back to Potter House.  
When they lay in bed, cuddled up, Astoria fell asleep in less than a minute. Ginny lay there, basking in happiness until she fell asleep herself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chris, Mattias, Robin and Sara are in real life the cosplay group The Mischief Managers. If you don't know their cosplay videos yet, they are very recommendable. And if they were sorcerers, they really would have written the book. ;-)
> 
> Thanks to my beta reader, the amazing INeFfinP.


	8. Seventh day

When Astoria woke up, Ginny was not beside her, but she heard water running in the bathroom. She turned to look at the door and thought of the events of last night. She and Ginny had kissed. Ginny loved her, too. Astoria smiled happily. It was a dream come true. 

Ginny came out of the bathroom, walked over to her, and kissed Astoria’s left temple softly. “Good morning, my love.”   
“Mmmh, good morning, beautiful. Wait one moment for me.” She got up, went to the bathroom, cast a mouth refreshing and a deodorizing spell, and returned to the bed.   
“Come in, it’s still early,” Ginny told her.   
She crawled back under the blanket, moved closer to Ginny, and kissed her softly. Ginny returned the kiss, rubbing circles on her back. 

A sound of Apparating disturbed them. Ginny reached for her wand, then started giggling when she saw a house elf she had seen at the Manor the day before levitating a huge tray with a spectacular variety of food.   
“Good morning Mistress Astoria, Mistress Ginevra. Topsy has prepared breakfast. Master Draco has called Topsy from the Manor and ordered the different foods for you. Master Draco told Topsy to give Mistress Astoria this letter. Topsy is staying at Potter House today, so if the Mistresses want something, summon Topsy.”   
“Thank you, Topsy. Tell Draco we appreciate the choice of breakfast.”   
Ginny, who had just started to calm down, told Topsy, “Sorry, Topsy I was not laughing at you. I was frightened when I heard the Apparating sound, and then I laughed at myself. My family never had elves when I grew up, and Harry’s elf, Kreacher, died of old age last year. Thank you very much for preparing breakfast for us and bringing it here.”   
“You are welcome Mistress Ginevra. Call Topsy if you have a wish.” Topsy disapparated, while Astoria opened the letter.   
She read for Ginny what Draco had written in his almost calligraphic handwriting: 

"Dear Astoria, Dear Ginny,   
Good morning to you both. We are happy you have talked about your feelings for each other.   
We have decided that we want to give you time alone with each other, without much responsibility for everyday obligations. So, I called Topsy from the Manor to prepare food and provide room service for you. ~~We chose lots of foods that can be licked off somebody’s skin.~~ And don’t worry, we will take the kids to the Manor park, to Scorpius’ playground. So, no kids will come in without knocking.   
Have fun,  
Draco and Harry"

Astoria inspected the food on the tray. There were bread rolls, chocolate-covered fruits, and tea, but most of the tray was filled with different bowls and jars with foods with a creamy consistency. There was guacamole, Ajvar (a sauce made from eggplants and peppers), hummus, cream cheese, vanilla pudding, strawberry cream cheese, Mousse Au chocolat, marmalade and Nutella. The mixture seemed odd to Astoria, but obviously the men had simply rummaged store rooms of both houses for food that could theoretically have a sexy consistency, maybe stretching the meaning of it further than she would have. But what did she know about it? The only time she had heard about that kind of activity before was in a drunken monologue of Pansy’s one New Year’s Eve, the year Astoria was pregnant. 

Astoria felt insecure. She had thought of doing more than kissing, but the men’s expectation for how far she and Ginny would go today was what scared her. 

“You look like you feel uncomfortable,” Ginny said, but it sounds more like a question than a statement.  
“Could we just have a normal breakfast? I mean, I … I have never…”   
Ginny took her hand. “I know. If I had no experience, this would intimidate me, too. And I promise you, I will not do anything you don’t want me to do. We will do everything at your timing; when you’re comfortable. I love you and want to make you happy.” She let go of Astoria’s hand, cut open a bread roll, and asked, “What would you like on your roll?”   
“Guacamole.”   
Ginny spread the guacamole and handed Astoria the bread roll, then spread marmalade on her own bread roll. They ate quietly, then set the tray on the bedside cabinet.

“Ginny, “Astoria said shyly.   
“Yes, Astoria?”   
“I – I’m sorry.”   
“No need to be sorry. Everything is okay. If you don’t want to go further, it’s not a problem. I love you, so I will respect your boundaries. If your boundaries mean to go no further than kissing, then I’ll be fine just kissing you. And any time you want to shift a boundary, we shift it. I promise I will respect them. I will keep my hands to myself.”   
“Don’t. I want to do more than just kiss. But I’m not sure how much more I’m ready for this morning.” 

Ginny smiled. “It’s not necessary to know it in theory and make a plan. How about this: We try to find out what you like. Anything I can think of doing, I will ask your permission. If you feel it is possible that you will like it, we try it and then you tell me if it is as good as you thought, or if we put it on the imaginary ‘Never Again’ list.”   
“Yes, please. Number one: I love it when you rub circles on my back.”   
“Same yes, please for me.”   
“I love it when you kiss my lips. And I love proper snogging.”   
“I agree so much. Are you ready for trying something new? Where do you want me to kiss you?” 

“Choose a place that even Snape would have let us see uncovered, and connect it, with kisses, to a place you would let people see at a Ministry function,” Astoria said, after a little thinking.   
“Gladly but let this be the last time you mention Snape when we talk about kissing,” Ginny said as she reached with her right hand for Astoria’s hand. She kissed her fingertips, one by one, then the palm of her hand, then the wrist. She kept going higher, peppering little kisses to the inside of the elbow, all the while stroking very lightly across the outside of Astoria’s arm with the fingertips of her left hand.   
“This feels good,” Astoria whispered in Ginny’s ear. “I wouldn’t mind trying something slightly more risqué.” 

Ginny turned to whisper back, “How risqué?”   
Astoria stage whispered, “You could show me something.”   
“If you tell me the limits. You can shift them later on or leave them where they are, but what is okay for now? I don’t want to overstep any boundaries.”   
Blushing, Astoria breathed, “Anything not covered by clothes is allowed.”   
Ginny started with small, soft kisses from the side of Astoria’s neck down her collarbone. Suddenly, she felt hands under her chin. She withdrew. “Sor-“ 

Then she saw what Astoria was actually doing. She was opening her topmost pyjama button.  
“This feels good. I’d like more of it.”   
Ginny happily complied. Her kisses dipped lower, covering every centimeter from her neck to the remaining closed buttons on Astoria's pyjamas, then moved more to the head end of the bed to kiss Astoria’s lips.   
“More, please,” Astoria breathed, stroking Ginny’s shoulders. Then she shifted her fingers to the next closed button.  
“May I do that?” Ginny asked.   
“Yes, please, all of them. And take off your t-shirt, will you?” 

Ginny’s face seemed to melt into a delighted smile, then she took her shirt off. Astoria saw that Ginny’s adorable freckles were numerous on her shoulders, and some stray freckles were even on her breasts.   
Ginny slowly opened the next button on Astoria’s top, kissing the skin it revealed softly, then licking it. Her mouth moved lower as she opened the other three buttons. 

She finally pushed the fabric off Astoria’s breasts, and Astoria saw the soft, delighted, aroused look in her eyes. _It’s me she’s looking at like this! This amazing woman wants me!_  
“May I kiss them?” Ginny breathed, her face just a finger’s length away from Astoria’s left breast. The air from her mouth caressed her skin already.   
“Pleeease!” Astoria heard herself say.   
Ginny’s lips touched Astoria’s left nipple, then parted slightly and her tongue flicked over it. She sucked tentatively, and Astoria couldn’t hold back a little moan. 

She felt self-conscious. But Ginny, who was looking at her face, whispered against her breast, “It’s okay. You can be loud if you feel like it. I want you to be loud.”   
The words against her wet nipple seemed to spread on her skin like ripples in water.   
Ginny stroked and kissed every part of Astoria’s body that was not covered by the pajama trousers, until the blonde woman suddenly whispered, “I’m wet down there, but I didn’t – pee. I need to shower.” 

“Wait one moment. Of course, you didn’t pee.”   
“Then why is my cellar flooded?”   
“You think it is a flooded cellar? They made you think that?”   
“A dirty, smelly flooded cellar.”   
“Let me guess, your father and the governess he employed?”   
Astoria nodded.   
“That’s not what’s down there. Flooded cellars are not the only wet rooms. Think back to Hogwarts. Weren’t you a prefect in seventh year? Your vagina is rather like a nice and beautiful prefects’ bathroom, ready for a visitor. When you get aroused, it tries to run a bath for my fingers.” 

“Ginny…” Astoria’s voice sounded shy.   
“Yes, Astoria.”   
“Is it bad if I’m curious how it feels when your fingers take a bath in it?”   
“It’s good – if you are really ready for it. Even after we start, you can say “stop” at any time. I love you. Most of all, I want you to be happy and to fully enjoy everything we are doing. And my vagina is wet, too.”   
“Please, I want to know how it is…” She took her pyjama trousers off and put Ginny’s hand where she wanted it to be. Ginny’s fingers inside her, and later, her fingers inside Ginny, felt perfect. She felt free and safe, and as if all her magic was dancing with Ginny’s magic. It was more intense than conjuring a Patronus. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

“Thank you for organizing breakfast in bed for us,” Astoria told Draco when they had descended to the drawing room around noon.   
“You’re welcome; and I like that smile on your face. Your lips look as well-kissed as they are meant to be.”   
She laughed. “We did more than kiss. Now I can understand what Pansy talks so much about.”   
“Let’s talk about it later, if you want. Kingsley firecalled. He told me to ask you to call back. Something about a guest from Canada.”   
Astoria rushed to the chimney, threw Floo Powder inside, and noticed only then that she didn’t know Shacklebolt’s Floo Address. 

“Riverside Den,” Harry helped out, bending down beside where she was kneeling. She forgot the address immediately again. Obviously, there was a Fidelius charm on the house.   
Kingsley Shacklebolt seemed to be waiting by the fire for Astoria’s call. “Ah, Astoria. Is it okay if I call you by your first name?”   
“Yes, Minister Shacklebolt.”   
“Please, call me Kingsley. We have been waiting for your call. But Harry was right not to want to disturb you both.” He gave her a knowing look.

“You have no problem with it?”   
“Not at all. I’m married to Julia, but actually I define myself as panromantic demisexual. Before I met her, there was a time I dated a man, and was happy with him. I rely on you not to tell the press.”   
“You can count on me, Kingsley. So, any news from Daphne?”   
“News? Dylan Greengrass is sitting beside me, waiting for you.”   
“Dylan?” she asked, but Kingsley had left the fireplace already. 

Now she saw jeans-clad legs approaching the fireplace, and a slim person in a white t-shirt knelt down. Astoria gasped.   
“Daphne? Is that you?”   
“Hello, dear sister. That was me. Actually, the danger I fled to Canada from was Father. Because I don’t identify as female. My friends, colleagues and neighbors in Canada know me as Dylan.”   
Astoria started laughing. At Dylan’s irritated look she explained, “Father always told me how much more Blood Purist you are. That you have found a pureblood man who would not only marry you, but also take your name. And now I hear that you don’t even identify as a woman. The joke is on Father!”   
Dylan joined in on the laughter, much to Astoria’s relief.

“Dylan, mind if I ask you, do you identify as a man, then? Should I call you my brother from now on?”   
“No, I identify as nonbinary. So I am your sibling, and you can use the pronouns they/them. You probably have never met a nonbinary person, and don’t know what to think now, am I right?”   
“I think a cursebreaker who worked at the Manor yesterday might be nonbinary, but I’m not sure. I’ve read the term before, in Madam Pomfrey’s Quibbler article on why we need sex education at Hogwarts. But, I think I don’t know enough yet.“ 

Astoria felt insecure, but at the same time, happy to resume the contact. She had missed Daphne. She would have to get used to Daphne being Dylan now, but they were the same person. The same person who had laughed at the antics of the governess who had come to their house every summer to teach them proper Pureblood behavior. The same person who had made up crazy stories and told her when they were kids. She wanted to know more, but what questions were okay to ask? 

“Okay, Dylan. I’m glad to see you again. Want to come over to Potter House and meet my found family?”.   
“Extend the invitation to Kingsley and Julia,” Ginny added.   
“Sorry, I have taken work home, and Julia is visiting her cousin. Before the late afternoon, we will not have the time,” Kingsley’s voice was heard from the background.   
“Then join us at the Manor as soon as you are able. We will be glad to welcome you,” Astoria said.   
“I will definitely come. I can’t ask Julia until she comes home. Statute of Secrecy.” 

Dylan came through the Floo and vanished the ashes from their clothes.   
The siblings hugged, holding on to each other for a long time. “So good to see you again,” Astoria repeated.   
“Yes, and so good you shed that toxic bullshit father dumped on us,” Dylan answered.   
Astoria took one step back, turning towards where the others stood. “So, may I introduce my girlfriend to you? This is Ginny, Quidditch commentator, Harry Potter’s fake wife, and activist for a more democratic wizarding society.”   
“I never knew your first name before you married Harry Potter. The Slytherins always just said She-Weasel.”   
Ginny smirked. “And all Gryffindors called you Grasshopper.”   
“I’m glad that the bad old times are over.”   
“Oh yes. And Harry and Draco are bound for Eternity.” 

Dylan turned to the two men who were seated on the sofa. “Congratulations. Who would have guessed that the greatest rivals of Hogwarts would be a couple one day?”   
Ginny and Astoria both exclaimed their answers at the same time.   
“Fred and George.”  
“Blaise.” 

So far, none of Astoria’s questions were answered. She hadn’t even asked, but she would not let Dylan disappear again, so she could ask them things when she felt it was okay to do so.   
It was Ginny who was bold enough to start asking questions. “You don’t need to answer if it is not okay, but have you always felt that the term “girl” didn’t fit for you, or did it start at some time?”   
Astoria looked at Dylan and mouthed, “Gryffindors!”   
“It’s okay,” Dylan replied. “When I was small, it was just the rules for girls, such as wearing dresses, sitting like a girl, being quiet and so on. Later, as a teenager, the trouble began. Breasts and so on. All the expectations people have… But the male role also didn’t fit me. I don’t look or feel like a man. I’m neither.” 

“As long as you feel comfortable with who you are, it is good.” Everybody stared at Narcissa. They all agreed with what she said, but nobody would have thought that she, of all people, would say so.   
“Narcissa, you…” was all that Astoria got out in surprise.   
“A clever, young woman told me recently that rules are there to help people to live in peace with each other, and that rules that don’t serve that purpose are useless.” 

They had a delicious lunch together, that had been prepared by Topsy, then, after inviting the Weasleys to join them there, went to the Manor Park, to enjoy today’s sunny weather. Over the afternoon friends and trustworthy relations gradually joined them. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Around four o’clock, all trusted friends and relatives had assembled at the main door of the Manor: The Weasleys, including all spouses, Neville and Blaise, Luna and Millicent, Pansy and Greg, Andromeda and Teddy, Dean and Seamus, Minerva McGonagall and Poppy Pomfrey, the rest of their teachers from Hogwarts, Head Auror Robards and Dennis and Noelle Creevey, Mei and O’Connell. The last ones to arrive were Kingsley and Julia. 

They all followed Draco and Harry to the door of the Tapestry Room. When Draco opened it, Astoria gasped. The room had expanded to twice its previous size, and even the ceiling had grown higher. The tapestry that had before covered two walls, now fit on only one wall, but contained Jamie, Al and Lily Luna as descendants of Harry, and Ginny as their mother (connected to Harry with a copper line on which the words “Lineage Bond” were written. Equally, Draco and Astoria were connected by the copper Lineage Bond.) Draco and Harry were connected by a gold and silver braid-like ornamental line with red and green ornamental letters forming the words Eternal Fidelius Bond. 

“So, this is how a fully developed and consummated Fidelius Bond looks on a tapestry.” Bill’s voice sounded awestruck.   
“I have also only once before seen one,” O’Connell informed him. “Since Blood Purist ideology was spread, only very few people know about binding themselves with a Fidelius Bond.”   
“The people bound by the other Fidelius Bond must be amazing people, I wish I knew them.” Draco mused.   
“I take that as a compliment,” a voice said behind him. 

He spun around. “Professor?”   
“I haven’t been your teacher for years, Draco. It’s time you started calling me Minnie. And I assume you want to know to whom I am bound?”   
“It would be a great honor to me,” Draco bowed slightly.   
“It’s me,” Poppy informed, and took Minnie’s hand.   
Minnie moved closer to her and kissed her cheek, then smiled at Draco, saying with a firm voice, “I’m proud of you both, and grateful we are no longer the only ones bound by a Fidelius bond. Sirius and Remus wanted to bind themselves when Sirius was hiding in Grimmauld Place, but the tapestry was not loyal to him. It was waiting for his heir. But your bond will be visible on Grimmauld Place’s tapestry, too, and perhaps on the Weasleys’ Family Parchment.” 

Astoria remembered having heard that Harry had appeared as Sirius’ heir on the tapestry, connected to him by the word “Adoption,” after the Ministry had approved the inheritance.   
When Astoria looked at her name on the tapestry again, she became aware of a fine gold and silver double line between her name and Ginny’s, and the words “Fortasse Ligandae” in pearly letters. 

“Ginny, look.”   
“The house knows we are more than friends.” Ginny’s voice sounded as blissful as Astoria felt. The house didn’t oblige them at this point in their relationship, but it took their relationship as seriously as Astoria took it. She pulled Ginny into an embrace and kiss. 

When they ended the kiss, Ron stood next to them. “Have you seen this? We are there, all of us.” He pointed at the wall opposite the tapestry. Another tapestry filled this wall, but it was not covered with a family tree. Instead, it was a huge floral ornament, on which names and faces of all the people present were visible.   
“It has not been here before,” Astoria said after a lengthy silence.   
“This is called a Tapestry of Caring. We have one in my house, too. All the people Poppy and I care about are on it, although for the Hogwarts students, there is just the Hogwarts crest in one flower, otherwise we would have to build a Great Hall in our small house in the Highlands.” 

When all had looked at the tapestry, Narcissa encouraged them to take refreshments in the Park, around the gazebo. 

When most of the guests had gone back home at around seven thirty, the rest of them Apparated or Flooed back to Potter House, where Topsy served grilled delicacies for dinner, because they expected Lily Luna to be sleepy soon after dinner. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

“Daddy, has Harry taught you to conjure a Patronus?” Scorpius tugged at Draco’s sleeve.   
“He told me all he knows about Patronuses. But so far, I have never had a happy enough thought. I think I made too many people sad and I have to mend things first.”   
“Mommy is happy, Ginny is happy, Harry is happy, Dylan is happy, Al, Jamie and Lily are happy, I’m happy. Daddy, try, pleeeeease. Now.” 

Draco looked around. Harry was sitting beside him and smiling, having interrupted the conversation with Kingsley and Julia to listen to Scorpius. Al stood beside Scorpius, jumping up and down and just as excited as Scorpius. James Sirius and Lily Luna were playing together. Draco’s former house-mates and their former rivals talked to each other in mixed groups and every group was obviously having fun. Arthur and Molly were teaching his mother to ride a bicycle. And Ginny was whispering to a laughing Astoria and peppering kisses on her face and shoulders. Astoria looked delighted. 

Astoria looked delighted! “EXPECTO PATRONUM!” A blue wisp, a moving something that solidified, and solidified, and looked like a dog with a stag tattoo.  
“Daddy, that is…” Scorpius exclaimed.   
“That is amazing!” Harry exclaimed and conjured his own Patronus. His stag also looked as if it had a tattoo now. The shape of a dog appeared on its side. 

Bill came across the lawn towards them. “It’s true. This is the sign of being bound. Your Patronuses carry each other’s sign. But only those who know the binding see the signs. I have read about it before, but never seen it, because I didn’t know before that Minnie and Poppy are bound. I assume you think a lot about Sirius, Draco?”   
“Yes, I do. Thinking of him gives me hope that I have light inside myself, and not just the toxicity and dark magic that my father taught me.”   
“That is why your Patronus looks like Sirius’ Animagus form.” Bill answered with a smile. 

Scorpius grabbed Draco’s hand. “Daddy, you promised to put your Patronus on Al’s wall.”   
Draco got up and followed the boys to Al’s room with a spring in his steps. He noticed the admiration in Harry’s face, and the contentment in Astoria’s and Ginny’s expressions, as they shouted “Well done!” and “We are proud of you.” 

Narcissa shook hands with Molly and Arthur, when Draco returned from Al’s room, and Kingsley called out, “Draco, on Monday you’ll come to my office, to talk the details of your promotion.”   
“Promotion? You want to promote me?” Draco exclaimed in surprise.   
“Yes, because now I can. You are free from your father’s influence now. Malfoy Manor is loyal to you. This qualifies you for a post as Manager of the Estate. As long as you were in contact with your father, you were not eligible for this promotion, because your father or one of his friends could have Imperiused you. But seeing how hard you work to do something good, and knowing about your father’s health, we never bothered to employ someone new for the position, we just begged Deirdre Miller not to retire for another six months and then another six months. You were the only one we wanted to see as her successor.” 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

That night, after casting a silencing charm and a child-safe ward on Ginny’s room that would make the kids rather go to Harry and Draco than to their Moms, Harry lay down cuddling up to Draco. So many things had taken a turn for good. He and Draco were bound for eternity, and all their friends and all trustworthy relations knew. Ginny and Astoria had found love in each other. The kids had not lost any parents but gained more family to be there for them. Astoria was now reunited with her sibling, and Narcissa and Andromeda finally had started talking again. Even Draco and Ron had found plenty of common ground over a few games of Wizard’s Chess. 

One could not say that all was well, not as long as nightmares of the war were haunting them, not as long as there were people out there who would want to burn their family members out of the family tree, or discriminated against lycanthropy patients or oppressed house elves, not as long as it would take a lot of courage to be openly LGBTQ+ or lookism was a thing, as Greg had told him about today. But there definitely was hope, and all was so far better than before this week. With this thought, he drifted into a dreamless sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Fortasse ligandae_ : latin, perhaps going to bind themselves.
> 
> _Lookism is discriminatory treatment toward people considered physically unattractive; mainly in the workplace but also in social settings. While not classified in the same way as racial, cultural, sexual discrimination, "lookism" is widespread and affects how people are perceived as well as affecting their opportunities in terms of romantic relationships, job opportunities, etc._ Source: Wikipedia.
> 
> Thanks to my awesome beta reader @INeFfinP for her patience with me whenever it shows that I'm no native speaker.
> 
> And thank you to @maqicool for encouraging me and giving me advice about Dylan Greengrass as well as to @PollyWeasley for helping me name Kingsley's house.


	9. Epilogue

19 days later 

Lucius Malfoy died of multiple organ failure. He was not buried at the family crypt.

234 days later 

Astoria looked into her ice cream to avoid looking at Ginny’s eyes. Either all would be over now, or it would be the beginning of the best time of her life. She had taken all her courage and tried to do something very Gryffindor. Her voice had almost failed her. The seconds stretched as if they were days, until suddenly two freckled arms wrapped around her from behind, the left arm just holding her tight, the right arm touching her finger. No, slipping a ring on it. Astoria looked at the ring. It was made of gold and silver and looked like a braid, resembling the design of a Fidelius Bond.  
“Yes, I want to be bound to you for one year as a betrothal time, and then for eternity. You were just the first one to propose.” 

A year and a day later 

It was one thing to see her daughter get married to Harry. They had known it was a temporary arrangement, to keep the press away and to have the children they always wanted but it was another thing to see her only girl binding herself for eternity to Astoria. Having had more time to prepare than Harry and Draco, and 14 family members eager to contribute to the preparations, Ginny and Astoria’s Eternity Binding ceremony was an impressive event, even though only close friends and family were invited. Minnie was the officiant, while Poppy and the Shacklebolts had surprised everyone by providing the music during the service. Kingsley played clarinet, and Julia a Cello, while Poppy sang a very beautiful, traditional love ballad with a very professional alto voice.  
For the occasion, the Tapestry room had expanded temporarily to the size of an average village church, displaying enchanted stained-glass windows and a ceiling like in Hogwarts’ Great Hall. The two brides simultaneously walked through the left and right aisle respectively, Ginny with Arthur, and Astoria with Dylan. The brides stood next to each other, facing the tapestry. Their wands were bundled together and tied with gold and silver ribbons. Each woman held up a hand and grasped the two wands, holding their tips to the tapestry while they said their vows. After they finished, they handed their wands to Minnie and turned to face each other, joining left hands together. With a whispered incantation, a ribbon wound itself around their clasped hands, binding them together. Then, to the joyful sound of Poppy’s singing, Minnie transfigured the ribbon into precious stones the colors of the rainbow and they became embedded in the rings in the symbol for infinity.  
Molly stood beside Arthur, but behind Ginny, and Narcissa stood behind Astoria, and beside Dylan. The four of them laid hands on the brides’ shoulders during the ceremony, and retreated when Minnie said: “You may now kiss.”  
Now her little girl was _really_ married. But she had to stay calm. Arthur was the outwardly emotional one in the family. But Molly felt the tears in her eyes, too. Her last born, her little girl, was really bound forever to Astoria. Apart from Charlie, all her kids were really married now. 

 

573 days later 

Draco came back to the Manor an hour and a half earlier than planned because his business appointment was canceled due to his client having the flu. He had bought a box of cake from a new patisserie in Diagon Alley and wanted to carry it through the drawing room into the pantry. Upon opening the door, he saw his rather disheveled-looking mother sprawled on her back on the sofa, one leg braced on the floor. A very masculine bum and long legs in suit trousers were the only parts of the person that was visible. The rest of them was hidden under Narcissa’s wide, maxi-length skirt. Narcissa had obviously cast a silencing charm, but her facial expression was that of someone experiencing an orgasm.  
Draco dropped the cake and headed back out.  
When By the time he had gathered all his courage to go to the appointed lunch with his mother, he was ten minutes late. Narcissa looked rather flushed, and so did the man sitting beside her at the table. His features were familiar to Draco—light brown hair streaked with a little grey and laugh lines. The man resembled Professor Lupin, although the lines on Professor Lupin’s face were no laugh lines but were instead because of all the ways he suffered. Draco and the man looked at each other silently for a long time. Narcissa found her speech again. “May I introduce you to Conrad Howell? He is courting me, and if you don’t object to it, Draco, I would like to accept.”  
“You have accepted already, Mother. Cun- Conrad is likely to already be on the tapestry. You had to put up with my 'unspeakable things,' so I can put up with yours. But a warning that I should owl before going into my drawing room would have been nice.”  
Astoria laughed. “I can guess what you walked in on.”  
Conrad turned out to be a friendly, humorous man, and, indeed, a maternal cousin of Remus Lupin; his father, Maldwyn, was the older brother of Remus’ mother. He met Sophy, a nice witch at Hope and Lyall’s wedding. They had married, too, and moved to Switzerland, and decided to send Conrad to Beauxbatons. Conrad had not known Remus well, and Harry told him all he knew

New Year’s Eve, some years later

They were all assembled for their trusted friends and family celebration at the Manor. The Burrow had become too small once the Malfoys (including Narcissa and Conrad Howell), Potters and Weasleys all became one family. But the Manor had undergone big changes since Lucius’ death; large portions of representative splendor had given way to a comfortable friendliness, largely influenced by the Potters and Conrad. It had become a tradition for them all to celebrate the New Year together at the Manor, sharing all preparations for the party among themselves, according to their talents, under the joint supervision of Molly and Narcissa. Everyone had expected the two women to argue over menu decisions and decoration styles. Instead, they had bonded over a shared hobby of gardening and an innate curiosity, that Narcissa was finally free to live. Thus, they became best friends and developed a perfect mixture of Narcissa’s refined style and Molly’s down-to-earthness. Each family had rooms set aside for their family heirlooms that were precious to them. Over the years, however, less time was spent in those rooms, and more time was spent together, all of the families mingling and making their own, new memories

Harry, Draco, Teddy, James, Al, Scorpius, Lily, and the twins, Simon and Sophia Parkinson, were folding the napkins. Teddy told them about how, so far, working for the Quibbler, all he was allowed to do was write about minor issues: potions accidents or drunk wizards splinching themselves, or lost kneazles and found crups. What he really wanted, was to have published some of the articles he had already written on major Wizarding issues. 

“Does Luna not accept your articles?” Draco inquired  
“She has never seen one. You know, she leaves the day-to-day business to Mr. Boot and Ms. Singh, but they have also never seen an article of mine. I show them to Mr. Morris, and he tells me not to waste my time with immature articles. Those were the articles I showed to you guys, Uncle Harry and Uncle Draco; the ones you recommended I submit.”  
“Morris is your boss? That old flobberworm?" Draco burst out.  
"Language," Harry muttered under his breath, chuckling.  
“Don’t complain, honey. You rub off on me.”  
Draco grimaced a bit in apology, then turned to Teddy and continued, " Small wonder you don’t get anything good published. Luna, Terry and Lakshmi have been wanting to sack him for years, but he seems to have something in his hand to blackmail them." 

Harry would not have been Harry if he didn’t ask Luna what Morris had in his hand against them.  
“It’s actually you and Draco he has something in his hand against. He has photographs of you kneeling in front of a pantsless Draco, that were taken a few weeks before your binding.”  
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Harry exclaimed.  
“What happened, honey?” Draco appeared behind Harry. His hand on Harry's shoulder radiated comfort and strength.  
“Morris blackmails Luna with our secret relationship. He has photographs.”  
“Let’s discuss this with Astoria, Ginny, Mother, and the kids. But I’m ready to go public on our own terms. You were Gryffindor enough to say something about how you wanted to be out and proud at some time in your life, didn’t you?” 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

“So, you stayed in the closet to make our lives normal? Dad, you are Harry Potter; normal never even had a chance in our vocabulary! And remember, I didn’t turn out to be straight myself!” Al shouted, but at the same time squeezed his father’s hand. He understood that his parents had made this decision to protect them, but in this case, a little less protection and a little more pride would have been healthier.  
“It’s time you came out, and since you took us as an excuse not to do so, better do so with a bang! You are not helpful. How will the wizarding world ever be welcoming to trans, nonbinary or pansexual people, if Harry Potter is scared to tell the public that he is gay and in the cheesiest monogamous relationship I can possibly imagine?” Lily sounded like her mother during Ginny’s teenage years.  
Astoria smiled at her stepchildren and her son and said, “I agree, it is high time to go public about it. But we have to make sure we do it at our terms; develop a strategy and a time frame with Luna, so we don’t give Morris or any other gits a chance to control how we get attention.” 

Summer, the same year

It still took until summer, because Astoria’s curse disease became critical. But in April, a team of healers, curse breakers and potioneers from their group of friends managed to not only contain it but to even heal it, with a revolutionary new method. In May, Hermione re-introduced the concept of Fidelius Bonds to a bigger part of wizarding Britain, gradually releasing historical research, and giving interviews with (our) three Fidelius Bound couples, who “don’t want their names in the press at this point in time.” 

Harry and Ginny agreed to have a home story published, on two conditions. One, only Teddy would be allowed to do the home story together with a photographer of his choice; and two, the home story would be released on a certain day in June, which they knew to be the day before Pride Parade in Muggle London. 

For the afternoon of that day, the four of them had arranged a press conference following an interview with Lee Jordan for WWN. 

When an owl brought the Quibbler the morning after the interview and press release, the whole family had been waiting in anticipation for an hour already. Astoria took the Quibbler, cast a few Geminios and passed it around, while the owl sat at a plate with owl treats and helped itself.

> ** Harry Potter Invites Us to His Home and Shares His Most Beloved Secret  **
> 
> _After his marriage 21 years ago to his best friend’s sister, Ginevra Weasley and the births of his children, Harry Potter has been very secretive about his family life. He appears in public only to raise funds or awareness for different causes to unite and heal wizarding Britain. Teddy Lupin, the author of this home story, is his godchild, and thus, an insider to the Potters’ family life._
> 
> As Harry ushers us into his drawing room in Godric’s Hollow. Apart from Ginevra Potter and their three children, James, Al and Lily, there are also the Malfoys, Draco, Astoria and Scorpius. Antonia Goldstein, the photographer, is surprised to see them there. She asks Harry why there are more guests here, and gets the answer that Draco, Astoria and Scorpius are not guests, but family members.  
>  “I wanted to wait and show you this later, but as the question has come up already, follow me,” Harry says. We all follow Harry and Draco through the door of an improved vanishing cabinet. “Short way charm,” Harry explains. The corridor we enter is no longer than an average two-bedroom flat corridor, and behind the door at the end of it, we find ourselves in the east wing of none other than Malfoy Manor.  
>  “I caused so much harm with this cabinet. I wanted to destroy it permanently after the war, but it turned out to be impossible to do so,” Draco Malfoy tells us. “Then, George Weasley told me to use it for a purpose of love. He invented two charms to improve it: one to shorten the way, and one to guards the passage from everyone with bad intentions.”  
>  “Oh yes, the bad intentions charm works: I wanted to yell at Al for borrowing my hoodie without asking me while he was at the manor, and I was redirected back to Godric’s Hollow,” James says with a laugh.  
>  In the meantime, we arrive at the Malfoy Manor’s tapestry room. “When my parents were killed by Voldemort, he destroyed the Potter tapestry. Therefore, I have to show you this on the Malfoy tapestry,” Harry told us.  
>  He pointed to Draco Malfoy’s name. There are two lines of binding going out from it. The bond between him and Astoria is not a full marriage; it is a heritage bond. Draco and Harry are bound with an eternal Fidelius Bond. I can only tell you, because I am one of the secret keepers.  
>  On the tapestry there, is a second Fidelius Bond line. It connects Ginny Weasley Potter with Astoria Greengrass Malfoy. … 

The rest of the article talks about the events that led to the bindings, the everyday life of the Potter-Malfoy-Weasley-Greengrass family, and Harry and Draco’s mind-healing process. It even covered Al’s name change from Albus Severus to Alphard Rubeus (a name he chose together with Harry, who had become aware of how abusive Dumbledore and Snape had been and apologized to Al for naming him after those two men). It ended with an invitation for every LGBTQ+ person of the Wizarding World to attend the Pride Parade.

Six months later 

There had been plenty of attention at first, but within a week it had shifted away from their family, as more and more well-renowned members of the Wizarding World came out to the public. Those who had tried to insult LGBTQ+ people faced a severe backlash. Fidelius Bonds were no longer a secret matter. In fact, they received so many invitations to attend ceremonies that the family had to split up to send someone to each binding they were invited to.  
Fortunately, some of their closest friends, who had attended Ginny and Astoria's binding, had decided to bind themselves as well, before Hermione had made Fidelius Bonds public knowledge. The whole family was thankful they had all been able to attend the bindings of Dean and Seamus, Neville and Blaise, and Parvati and Lavender.

Terry had fired Morris the day the article appeared. So, Teddy not only had a chance to publish all the articles he had written but out of all the applicants, Terry Boot chose Teddy R. Lupin to be Morris’ successor. Teddy became the youngest head of the culture and social climate pages in the history of the Quibbler. 

When a reporter of the Daily Prophet approached Astoria and asked her opinion on the fact that Scorpius and Al were seen snogging at the Three Broomsticks, she just laughed and said, “They aren’t blood relatives, so what’s the problem? Anyway, it runs in the family.”  
“Are you happy?” the reporter continued.  
“Yes. I have my awesome, loving wife; our children with the best fathers we can imagine for them; my sibling, Dylan; my in-laws; and lots of caring friends. I work as a historian, the best job for me. I have everything I could possibly want.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I hope you enjoyed my fic. I want to thank the awesome INeFfinP again for her beta reading. 
> 
> The characters don't belong to me, except for my OCs. I just borrowed them to tell my story.


End file.
